Dangerous Trust
by Tay1019411
Summary: "I sat down in the grass, just staring at the spot on the ground where I saw Phantom lying, looking so...helpless. Flashes of him falling ran through my head followed by more of him protecting me with his shield." Valerie's Point of View
1. Always Ruined

You know, after so much that has happened, it's kind of funny how one would enjoy the simple things in life. Like time. Time to just be by yourself, just hang there, not really do anything. Not having to worry about ghosts, school, job. Everything today is just going to be time.

Although I love my dad, I can't help but say I'm sort of happy he's working the tonight along with tomorrow (he was just recently promoted, which meant some longer hours were included). Things have been intense between us ever since he found out my extra curricular activities. Things grew even tenser than before when I stood my ground and told him there was nothing he could do to stop me. The new suit that ghost somehow gave me (I try not to think about the mechanics of the situation) made that clear since I could just make it appear on whim. He couldn't take any of my weapons now so there really wasn't much he could do; nothing but seethe with angered acceptance.

I didn't feel any guilt. I knew I was doing the right thing. I was the only one who could do this; I mean sure maybe the Fentons could do an okay job...okay maybe I'm just saying that because they are Danny's parents, wouldn't want to completely tear down my crush's two reasons for his life and all. But still, even if the Fentons were amazing ghost hunters, I would still be on this same path. Besides, the ghosts aren't the only problem; no, it would be easier if they were. One ghost entirely was a problem of it's own. Phantom.

Ya, big surprise there, huh? Why would he be any different from the ghosts, you might ask? It's because he's smarter than the rest and more powerful. There is nothing worst than something that is smart and powerful at the same time. It is nearly impossible to take that down. Lately, he's been acting like this superhero, always saving the day and everything even in situations where other ghosts weren't involved; but I know his real intentions. He's only trying to sucker everybody into trusting him until he finally strikes, and next thing you know we will either be dead or his slaves. It was the same with that Pariah king, and it's the same with Phantom. The only difference is Phantom is attacking more strategically, not using brute force that would surely get the people to rebel instantly.

It's just so aggravating, being the only one who knew his intentions, and being ridiculed because of it. Everybody was on his side now, leaving me just looking like a fool along side the Fentons. I had to admit-I can't believe I'm actually thinking this- the Fentons did have my respect for that. They were smart to know that all ghosts are evil regardless of how nice or human-like they seem to be. Yes, I said human-like. I mean it was baffling at first to see Phantom act so...so much like a real live teenager, but I knew it could just be a sham. Him acting like one of us. I did have to admit he was a good actor; if I didn't know what I knew today, then, I surely would have fallen for it. Like I said, smart, and I am the only one who can take him down.

I rolled on my back on the bed, just staring at the ceiling, which was currently adorned with a huge poster of Phantom (I was very annoyed/surprised to find at one of Amity's local stores, you can find them everywhere now), so the minute I wake up I am completely aware of my purpose for the day: to catch Phantom.

He had that stupid, smart-ass smirk on his face, the one that I knew very well, with his arms crossed; he was staring defiantly at some unseen force, as if daring it to do something. This photo of him was probably from some street camera or a random person taking a picture since Phantom never stayed around long enough to be mobbed by the idiot paparazzi. This was most likely taken during a brief pause of a fight or something; it definitely would explain his tussled, messy hair. His vivd green eyes were alive, still managing to have that faint glow even in the picture. I glared at them; they were so weird. I had never seen that color before, even on other ghosts. Most of them either had red eyes or blue, some of them didn't even have pupils; but this ghost was completely different from the rest. He even had the same skin color as humans. Again, I had never seen a ghost with human skin color, and if so it was either really ashen or deathly pale (excuse the pun). This ghost, there was just no end to the confusion that surrounded him. And, it was annoying as hell.

I looked over at the pile of books on my nightstand, smirking to myself with pride; it was the first time in a while that I actually finished all my homework with one day to spare. Generally, this was a good sign for the day, not having to worry about Lancer's paper.

I closed my eyes, just basking in the sheer relief, feeling the soft sheets under my body, thinking of getting a few more hours of sleep. Although it was a Saturday night, I didn't have anything better to do. Danny had to cancel plans with me, saying that he had tons to do on Lancer's paper. It wasn't a surprise, considering he always seemed to be waiting til the last minute to do anything; I could never understand why he was always so behind. He seemed to always have to do something, always late, always tired as if he was trying to catch up with something. I couldn't understand why; I knew he didn't have a job or anything like that, and I knew he's not lazy (he just didn't seem like that type of guy). I just chalked it up as a Danny thing; something that I've come to accept.

A slight beeping came from the top of my nightstand; I automatically opened my eyes, knowing that sound immediately. I sprang out of my bed with an aggravated groan. You have got to be kidding me!

Taking the tracking device, I typed in the necessary commands quickly, not wanting to lose any precious time just in case it was a more destructive ghost. A few seconds later, it hummed to life, "Two ghosts. Phantom and one unknown entity."

Phantom. I was finally able to get a good enough reading on him to identify him. His power levels kept increasing constantly enough that I wasn't able to keep up; I kept having to pull out this thing and save the results. Finally, I just settled on scanning for his ecto signature, but I still read his power levels every now and then just to make sure how dangerous he was getting.

I sighed to myself, calling forth my suit; only Phantom would be the one to sabotage a great day like this. He already did the same with everything else in my life. I jumped out my window, not bothering to use the door, clapping my heels together to activate my board, before zooming off to where the two ghosts were. The sun was still up in the sky, but it was near the time for the night to creep up. I couldn't help but feel even more relieved that my dad was working overtime, giving me the freedom to tend to these sort of problems because I definitely would of had a harder time trying to get out of the house.

I was about a couple of miles away before I saw the two clashing figures; one was noticeably smaller than the other. I could see his blazing white hair even from this distance. The other ghost was taller, more built than Phantom. He had this freaky looking blue skin, looking like he suffocated or froze over, and his black hair was drawn up into to points that resembled horns. Even the ghost's attire was overdone, a suit with black gloves and boots completed with a long white cape. I think his name was the Wisconsin Ghost or something like that; I heard it said by the Fentons so I wasn't too sure how accurate that name was, probably not.

I drew in closer; so far the two fighting ghosts hadn't even noticed my presence, too engaged in battling each other. I had to admit, I'd seen some pretty tough battles between Phantom and other ghosts, but he always seemed to be higher than the rest, more powerful. But, against this ghost, he seemed to be the one at a disadvantage.

They each fought each other as if they knew one another's moves. It was weird just watching them: an impossibly unpredictable strike would be blocked along with other complicated moves that would only be dodged if they were both so familiar with each other that they fought on a regular basis. Even though they seemed to be somewhat evenly matched, the other ghost had the upper hand almost every time. He seemed to be more calculated than Phantom and definitely more experienced in fighting, which was kinda intimidating considering how much Phantom fought and this guy was still better than him; but Phantom would get a good strike in every now and then, having the advantage of being stronger (and comparing both of them now more uncontrolled).

The ghost found an opening in Phantom's defenses, delivering a huge blow directly on the boy's head, sending him into a speeding spiral down to the ground. I couldn't help but wince when I saw and heard the huge crash, cement and dirt flying in every direction.

At this point, you would think that this would definitely be the end of the fight. No ghost could get up from that, but I wasn't surprised when Phantom popped back up, the only thing indicating that he was even hit was the small tears in his suit, the dirt and rubble covering him, and a small cut on the side of his head. I crossed my arms, of course he'd get up; he just had this stupid way of always getting right back up as if whatever blow you gave him didn't affect him at all.

He shot up in the air, glaring at the smirking ghost; I took this as my cue to attack. Charging one of my guns, I fired at the clueless ghost. My eyes widened as I began to smile as the shot got closer and closer, shooting like a rocket towards the ghost. There is no way-and he spiraled out the way just in time as the shot passed him.

I growled. He looked wild eyed in all directions until his eyes rested on me. He looked at me; the only emotion I could really make out was confusion as if he was asking why I was even here. I just edged closer to the stricken ghost, charging my gun again; but the sound of the other ghost's laughter stopped me from firing.

"Can't get a break these days, huh, Daniel?" the ghost mocked with fake sympathy, his voice sounded strangely dignified and intelligent.

Phantom glowered at him, his mouth twisting into a snarl. I was surprised to see disdain in his eyes; actually come to think of it, this was the first time I truly saw him angry, truly angry like I'm-gonna-rip-your-head-off angry. "Don't call me that, Plasmius," he spat, his gaze never straying from the ghost even though my gun was still humming with life aimed at him.

Huh, Plasmius. Wonder where that name came from; then again, Phantom was just as weird when you thought about it.

"My apologies, Daniel," Plasmius said, not really sounding sorry, Phantom growled. "Maybe I can make amends by taking care of this."

I didn't get what he meant until his hand started glowing and positioned it in my direction. I stood my ground, pulling out another weapon to aim at him. I readied myself to duck out the way of the expected blow, but the blast never came as a huge ball of ectoplasm was blasted at the ghost, throwing him back until he regained some form of recovery, in the process, dropping a few feet in the air.

"Leave her alone!" Phantom screamed, both his eyes and hands blazing green.

Plasmius growled, glaring at the boy in his crouched position, before straightening. I was mildly shocked that Phantom did that, which I wasn't expecting at all. I really couldn't explain what was going through my head about this because honestly this ghost just had a way of never making sense, but I did let my gun down, not really thinking. Maybe it was something to do with my stupid conscience or some crud like that; I mean, I'm not heartless. He did just save me from probably a huge injury no doubt.

"Valerie, get out of here, now!" Phantom shouted at me. I scowled at him, not liking the fact that he thought he could just command me to do something. That fake caring tone he was using wasn't helping extinguish my anger at all.

I charged up my gun in response, but before I could fire, the other ghost, Plasmius, slammed his fist into Phantom, making the ghost boy drop a few feet in the air until he regained his composure.

"It's funny, Daniel" the ghost said, "how you still try to defend her regardless of all she has done to you. How pitiful."

Phantom edged closer to me, positioning his body at an angle in front of me so if the ghost were to attack he could block easily.

The ghost smirked, his hands igniting with fiery magenta, then blasting straight at me. I didn't have any time to even get my gun ready, only enough to cover my face with both of my arms, preparing for the onslaught; but the pain never came. I looked up, uncovering my face, shocked to see Phantom in front of me, holding off the continuous blast with an ecto-shield of his own. He was grinding his teeth, both hands up, powering the wall as a bead of sweat trickled down the side his face.

Plasmius applied more pressure, coming in closer on the both of us.

I had a thousand different attacks going through my head, each one I could easily pull with how distracted they were, but I was frozen solid. I didn't know if it was from the complete shock that Phantom, my sworn enemy, was actually protecting me or the fear of that ghost. Yes, I was afraid as hell. I always thought Phantom was gonna be the hardest opponent I faced, but this ghost...he was worse. I didn't know how he was worse; I just had this unexplained feeling, one that told me these two were entirely different and that was bad.

"Give up, little badger," Plasmius said with a knowing smirk, but I could still see the strain lining his forehead.

Phantom didn't answer; his expression only becoming more determined.

Both of our attention was solely focused on the ghost in front of us. I had only a split second to notice a copy of Plasmius from my peripheral view before he attacked Phantom from behind.

The warning stopped in my throat as I saw the ectoblast hit him in the back, making his shield shatter. The two blasts hit him at once, making him scream. The attack ended as the teenager hit the ground, but this time he didn't get back up.

He stayed there, motionless.

Phantom.

I didn't say his name out loud, still not able to really look at him as an ally, but he definitely wasn't an enemy, well not at the moment. I led my board down, landing on the ground a couple of feet away from him.

The ghost appeared in front of me, smiling as he walked leisurely towards the ghost boy. He stopped in front of him, using the front of his boot to push the boy's head over, his head fell limply to the side, facing me, eyes closed. My stomach twisted into knots as I sneered at the ghost, but I didn't dare move, knowing that unlike Phantom, this ghost wouldn't hesitate to attack me.

As if knowing I was thinking about him, the ghost looked up at me, chuckling to himself, "This was easier than expected, but I have you to thank for that."

I growled, "I just came to do my job, besides he's a ghost. I don't care what happens to him."

The ghost only grinned as if I was missing something big. "You still don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?" I said, my voice sharp.

The ghost let out a loud bark of laughter, I couldn't prevent the shiver running down my back. "He's not your enemy!" he all but yelled at me as if he was trying to explain this to a child. "You are quite the pawn, are you? Blindly believing what only you see. Do you really think you made it out of every ghost battle unscathed solely due to your own talents alone? You are human, Ms. Grey."

I didn't say anything, just stood there as Plasmius reached down, picking up the boy and putting him over his shoulder, lifting him with such ease you would think that Phantom was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked, suspiciously; after all, he didn't seem like the type of ghost to let this kind of information slip.

He looked up mildly at me, almost bored, "Because, you did your job."

"What are you gonna do to him?" I exclaimed, not that I cared. I was just curious as to why some random ghost was kidnapping another ghost.

Plasmius only smiled, barely looking at me as he turned.

Seeing that he was about to leave, I hurriedly got out one of the small tracing devices on my belt; not really thinking of what I was going to do, I hummed it at the bottom of Plasmius's shoe just as he was lifting off in the sky.

Like I said, I didn't know why I really did it; it was more of an automatic reaction. I just watched the ghost fly away carrying Phantom, his arms swaying limply, head just hanging there. It wasn't something I was exactly used to seeing.

Once they were too far away to be seen anymore, I sat down in the grass, just staring at the spot on the ground where I saw Phantom lying, looking so...helpless. Flashes of him falling ran through my head followed by more of him protecting me with his shield. I shook my head, trying to not think or even acknowledge what he did for me, but I couldn't stop the next thought that passed through despite my efforts: It was all my fault. If he wouldn't have tried to protect me, he would have stopped the ghost from getting him. I'm the one that made him get caught so off guard. I knew that for sure, unfortunately.

Even though I still didn't see him as anything remotely close to a friend, I still felt crazy with guilt, just knowing it was my fault. Besides, I kind of owed him.

I let out a frustrated shriek, knowing nobody was around to hear. "This is not my fault!" I yelled at myself, trying to stop the onslaught of guilt.

Another image of Phantom's limp body being picked up by Plasmius passed through my head. I slumped my shoulders, knowing that I was going to sit here all night thinking about this until I did something to fix it. Saving myself a lot of time and headaches, I stood up, grabbing my tracker.

Half of me was hoping the stupid thing fell of the ghost or something, but that half was disappointed when I saw the blue dot moving. It was going at an alarmingly fast speed, but I didn't waste my time thinking about it as I activated my jet sled, heading in the course where Phantom was being taken.

I can't believe I'm doing this, but all I had to say was Phantom's gonna pay for this. Again, he always ruined everything.

_**A/N: **_I'm back...(smiling and looking from side to side). Anyways, I hope you like the first chapter of my new story. It was one that I was thinking about for a while, and I really wanted to do it even though it is similar to Something Special (in a way where the character sees another side to Phantom-but it is still different...hopefully because I don't want to be boring) But, I figured Valerie needed some loving :) Right? Well, again, I hope you like it, and I am just warning you, I only have a couple scenes written out so updates are not going to be as fast but they will come I promise. Thanks for reading!


	2. One Creepy Ghost

Chapter 2

I guess this is one of those times I really should have thought this through, or at least came prepared.

I was currently staring at an open portal right smack in the middle of a build board stationed at the entrance to Amity: Welcome to Amity Park: Home of Danny Phantom! I would have laughed at the irony if I wasn't currently in such a situation like this. I looked at my arm, at the moment displaying a rapidly moving dot in the area known as the Ghost Zone. I shivered involuntarily. I knew the portal was going to close soon; they normally do (yes, I've seen portals pop up randomly before). And, I also knew this was where that ghost went...I looked warily at the swirling vortex and sighed to myself before accelerating through it.

I couldn't help but yelp as the new surrounding enveloped me. "This place is still creepy," I muttered to myself.

I quickly turned on my camouflage mode, thankful once again for the new upgrades, as I continued to follow Phantom's kidnapper. All the while, I couldn't help but think where exactly Plasmius was taking Phantom. Not like I knew specifically where ghosts tend to spend their time when not terrorizing my town.

I vaguely remembered something Phantom told me about how every door was a ghost's domain. I wondered if one of these doors was Phantom's. I couldn't really picture that, mainly because he seemed to always be in the human world, so much so that he became a permanent fixture in Amity. Besides, with all the enemies he has, he wouldn't be able to survive a day here.

But, if what Phantom said was true about the door thing, then, Plasmius must be taking him to his...lair. Where he lives. Man, that's creepy even for a ghost. Taking a kid-I couldn't help but think of him as a kid, he looks my age after all-to their home; I shivered, knowing that those two were definitely not buddy-buddy enough for that to end well. Hopefully, I will get to him soon before anything happens-

I did not just think that. Shaking my head, I chanted mentally "you don't care what happens, just want to pay him back for the save. That's all."

I followed the path of the dot for the next thirty minutes with my silent chant repeating in my head. Luckily, my tracker was showing me the exact directions the ghost took. The trail led me to this...football shaped...thing...okay well this couldn't get anymore...odd.

Shrugging it off lightly, I put a tentative hand on the football, to find that it went through. Slowly, I went through the random floating football.

I glided into what appeared like a large lab, but there seemed to be different sections in it. Retracting my jet sled, letting my feet hit the ground with a small thud, I took a look around the strange lab.

Strange was definitely the right word. The place was covered in beakers and weird looking machines. Some looked like the inventions of the Fentons, but they seemed to have a more sinister quality to them. I peered around the corner, thinking that I was going to have to confront Plasmius head on in order to get Phantom, but to my surprise, I found a huge cell, extending all the way up to the ceiling, easy enough for somebody to stand in. The width of it was taking up half the wall. I saw a crumpled figure between the glowing green bars. I could already see the figure's blaring white hair; I exhaled, thankful that something was going to be easy tonight.

"Phantom," I breathed as I came to the cage. To my surprise, I found it open; I tugged on the bars, a slow creek from the jostling bars sounded throughout the lab. I winced at the noise, looking over toward Phantom; he didn't react at all to the sound, his eyes remained closed.

I closed the door-just in case-then walked over to him to get a better look. His eyes were squished tightly shut; he was taking ragged breaths. My eyes instantly went to the burns on his shoulder, the reason why I was here.

No time to feel guilty, now. I am here after all.

"Come on Phantom," I said, tugging on his arm for him to get up. "We have to go."

The boy looked up at me through half open eyes, the shine in their normally electric color gone, only a dull green remained, a mere shadow of what they usually were like.

"Valerie? What are you doin..." His words slurred together, but I was able to understand him.

"No time, explain later; come on," I said, attempting to make my tone more gentle at the sight of him while trying to force him up myself.

"I can't," he wheezed, his voice so quiet that I barely heard his words. "So tired."

My eyes widened. I have to say, this kind of scared me; I have never seen Phantom like this before, not even close to this. "What did he do to you?" I said, managing to stop the gasp building up in my throat.

Phantom grimly smiled with a dark humor in his voice, "A lot."

I wasn't able to answer back as we both heard footsteps. We both looked at each other, two scared expressions mirroring the each other.

I made a move to get up and find a hiding place, but Phantom caught my wrist. I looked at him about to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, but he beat me to it before I got the first word out.

"He will...catch you. Stay. I can...make you invisible."

I looked down at my hand to see it already invisible. Apparently he went on right ahead before even hearing what my answer was going to be, but I didn't mind as I saw Plasmius's looming shadow grow larger until the very ghost came into view. I sat down next to Phantom, staring at the hand that was supposedly gripping my wrist, but it just looked like he was clenching his fist.

Phantom's face was turned in Plasmius's direction, but I could still see it. His eyes were watching the ghost warily, but something was definitely off about him. He didn't seem as alert as he normally was; he appeared severely dazed.

Plasmius walked through the opening, looming over both Phantom and me. I felt the ghost boy wince as his eyes never left the ghost's face. I couldn't help but shiver when I looked up at the ghost as well. His crimson eyes were focused solely on Phantom and not in a good way, might I add.

The ghost knelt down next to the boy. Phantom let out a weak growl as he inched away from Plasmius but stopped abruptly when his back skinned the front of my knee. He squeezed my wrist before settling in the same spot he began, far away from me-which happened to be closer to Plasmius-as possible without drawing any suspicion. He seemed to play it off as him being too weak to move, but I wasn't too sure if it was an act entirely.

Plasmius drew his hand towards Phantom, 'affectionately' stroking his hair, but there seemed to be a possessive quality to the action. Phantom froze; his other hand clutching into a tight fist. "This would have gone differently if you weren't so difficult, Daniel."

"And, this would have definitely...gone differently. If you weren't such...a f-fruitloop..Plasmius," Phantom breathed out as he tried to jerk his head away from Plasmius's hand.

Plasmius's eyes tightened as he let out a feral growl. "You will learn manners, Daniel, very soon."

He reached for his belt, pulling out a needle filled with a greenish fluid. "This will disable your powers for now and in the process render you nearly incoherent."

I couldn't help but glare at the ghost, itching to do something; but I remained still, knowing that the smarter thing to do was to just wait for the stupid, crazy ghost to leave. The ghost took Phantom's arm (the closest one to him, which was not the one holding my wrist), the ghost boy gave an automatic jerk, but the struggle died quickly as Phantom's eyes cut momentarily to the space where I occupied invisibly. Looking back up at Plasmius, he settled with glaring daggers at the ghost, but did not move.

The needle plunged into his skin, delivering the liquid into his bloodstream; his eyes bugged out, face contorting to hold back a cry, only letting out small gasps of air as if he couldn't get enough. Phantom's whole body stiffened as his back arched, lifting from the ground a bit.

"I know this makes you feel weak, Daniel," Plasmius said, his gentle tone making me cringe and grind my teeth to stop a growl all at once, "but it's necessary. You are known to give me trouble in the past, and we don't want any of that, now. Be thankful that it doesn't cause too much pain; then, again the sedative quality should settle it down soon."

Phantom let out another groan, squeezing his eyes shut. The arm being held by the ghost went slack along with the rest of his body, the remaining portion of the liquid still being deposited in him, as his hand around my wrist tightened. It didn't hurt, which surprised me considering he seemed to be holding on with all his might; it felt more like a little kid trying to grip my wrist. I saw my hand flicker, becoming part of the visible world once again, but it went back to being invisible as fast as it came. That can't be good.

I looked worriedly over at Phantom. His eyes were still closed, and his breathing coming out more irregular than before. Whatever that ghost was putting in him must have been taking a toll of him.

Plasmius withdrew the needle, placing the cap back on it and returning it to his belt, probably thinking he was going to use it again-I scoffed silently, my eyes narrowing into slits, not if I can help it.

The ghost sighed, looking down at Phantom. He looked worse than he did before, and that is saying something. Plasmius stroked the boy's hair again; this time Phantom didn't respond, just stared up at Plasmius as if he was in a whole other world, his breathing coming out in long drawn out rasps.

"Soon, Daniel, very soon," the ghost muttered, "you will be free of all the things that hold you back. Humanity has some drawbacks for you but at the same time those drawbacks give me advantage." He was eyeing Phantom's shoulder as he said this. "You care too much, and that's your weakness."

I blinked blankly, trying to process what he said. What the hell did he mean by humanity...Phantom's humanity?

There was no way a ghost can be human at the same time...that's just impossible. He did say drawbacks of his humanity; maybe this was why Phantom was so different. While other ghosts lost their humanity, maybe he somehow kept his, like in spirit not in actual flesh. Maybe this ghost still thought and felt like a human...That would explain how strange he was.

I looked down out Phantom, trying to see him in this new point of view I created. It would explain why he risked his life to save me...then there was the town, how he was always protecting us. I could see now how all of his deeds would look like him being a hero, not just a big charade. Because, if he were a true ghost, wouldn't he have attacked the town by now, since he had everybody's trust already? He wouldn't continue to get beat up like this, not unless he enjoyed it for some unknown reason.

A soft groan pulled me out of my thoughts, I looked down at my hand to see that I was visible again. I gasped quietly, looking at Plasmius, to realize he wasn't there anymore. I gave a small sigh of relief, thinking that it was stupid to react that way.

I looked down at Phantom; he was looking at me through barely opened eyes.

"Hey? Are you okay?" I shook his uninjured shoulder; this time I didn't have to struggle to make my tone gentle. Seeing him like this, brought out my tender side despite who/what he is.

"Ya," he managed to say, "I'm just...the stuff he gave me is making me," he took in a wavering breath before letting it out, "tired."

Plasmius did say there were sedatives in the injection; it would make sense that they were strong-strong enough to make him like this-considering the fact that Plasmius seemed to be more aware of Phantom's capabilities than anyone else. It was still a bit of overkill to make Phantom like this. I mean what Plasmius gave him was canceling out his powers, so what could he possibly do now when he was defenseless? But then again, Phantom wouldn't be like this if that was the case.

"You should go," he rasped.

"What? No!" I exclaimed, barely able to keep my voice quiet enough. I am not leaving him here, especially when I came all this way for him.

"I c-can't..."

His body seemed to collapse even more on itself as all the tension was released from his body. His eyes slowly began to close as he let out a deep breath.

"Oh, no you don't," I grabbed his shoulder harshly, at the moment not caring about his injury although he seemed to mind as his eyes popped open, choking on a gasp, trying to be quiet.

Okay, now I feel bad. I sighed to myself; it seemed like all I've been doing to this boy was hurting him. So much for trying to turn a new leaf. "Sorry," I said, trying to make my voice sound more gentle, "but we really need to get you out of here. I'm gonna need your help, okay?"

He nodded weakly, still looking tired as hell; but we needed to get out of here. Taking one of his arms around my shoulder, I managed to lift most of his weight, steadying him to a standing position. I could feel his whole body shake under me. Oh boy, this is gonna be harder than I thought.

A/N:*hides under desk* I know it has been a long time since the first chapter went up, and I'm so sorry for that! I had this huge research paper to do, and well believe it or not the research combined with doing the outline and paper and soccer playoffs and juggling other hard classes just didn't leave me time to write. Hehe sorry. But, at least I managed to get chapter 2 up! It's a little short and I apologize for that but the chapter needed to end here because I just thought it was perfect spot to cut off. Well, hopefully you guys like it. :) til next time.

Also, sorry I didn't get to any reviews; I will try to be better.


	3. Different

Chapter 3

"We're going through the Ghost Zone?"

Phantom was leaning heavily on me; I could feel the tight muscles of his arms flexing as he tried to support himself more. For some reason, I was instantly speechless from how close we were. My heart started to beat faster without my consent.

I turned my head, coming face to face with him. His huge green eyes meeting mine.

It was hard not to be attracted to him, especially when he was this close to me; I could practically feel the warmth coming off of him. I knew he was dead, but...it was so hard to keep this cemented in my mind. He just seemed so alive. So full of life. Part of me wondered how he died, maybe he was exactly like this when he was human, so full of this life that he couldn't let go of all of it. I never stopped to think of why he was like this. He wasn't like the other ghosts, he didn't have some vindictive agenda or some stupid obsession. He was different; I could see that much by now. Why was he cursed to be a ghost? Was it the way he died or something?

I stared at his glowing green eyes, wondering what he looked like in his other life. I was abruptly aware (again) of our closeness. His chest was moving up and down rapidly, but he looked sturdy for the moment, waiting for me to answer his question.

"Um," I sputtered a little bit dazed, still thinking about Phantom's unknown past. "Well, I got through without really having a problem; we should be able to pass without attracting any attention."

Phantom adverted his eyes towards the swirling vortex of forest greens; he seemed more than a bit wary. "But you're with me this time, I don't know how they will react if they sense me."

"Who are these 'they' you're talking about?" I asked.

"My enemies," he stated simply as if it was obvious.

"The ghosts? You mean to tell me that all of them are your enemies; aren't you guys like the same species or something? You can't be that bad of enemies."

Phantom raised one eyebrow at me. Apparently he wasn't too tired to do that, but he didn't say anything although he looked like he wanted to. He just merely shrugged; then turning to me, he said, "You ready?"

I squared my shoulders, looking at the portal. "Yep."

I started to aim my jet sled towards the entrance to the Ghost Zone, but I felt Phantom's hand squeeze my shoulder, beckoning me to stop for a minute. I looked back instantly, more than a little anxious to get out of here.

He was giving me one of those intense expressions he always used when he was about to say something seriously important. "If the ghosts attack, leave me and go as fast as you can to get away, okay? Promise?"

I scowled, not liking the stupid bravado. "Don't be an idiot. No, I won't promise that; besides I would probably fair better in a fight than you would right now."

I couldn't help but smirk. Call it petty if you like, but it felt kinda of good to be stronger than him for once, even under these circumstances.

"That's besides the point, you're being-"

I didn't let him finish his sentence as I blasted through the entrance. "Spare me the lecture," I said to him without looking back, "you've probably wrote the rule book on being stupidly impulsive."

"Some people I know would probably agree with you on that." I could practically hear the smile in his voice. I pictured it to myself; the image of that little knowing smirk growing on his face like he was holding just enough information back from that sentence to drive me crazy with curiosity. "But,...you have more to lose than me."

"Like what?"

"Your life."

I scoffed, "You can lose your's too, Phantom. I know you are different from the rest. I heard that ghost say it."

"What do you mean by that?" He sounded like he was alarmed for some reason.

"Well, I don't know exactly. That ghost said something about you still having your humanity. If you were to die or get destroyed-however you ghosts say it-then, I guess...what I'm trying to say is that it wouldn't be good for the only ghost who still acts like a human to be gone," I muttered the last part, still a bit hesitant with the ghost. Old habits die hard.

I heard a soft sigh of relief behind me. Okay, that was a weird reaction. Then, again, with how many times I tried to kill him; I guess that makes sense after hearing that I don't necessarily want to anymore.

"Thanks," he said.

We were silent for a couple minutes until Phantom spoke again. "Did Plasmius mention anything else?"

I glanced back at him. His expression was composed, but I could see a bit of worry in his eyes.

"You were there," I said. "Don't you remember?"

"No...I didn't hear much after...I was too focused on keeping you invisible," he said.

Oh ya, that's right; that injection was meant to cancel out his powers; and at the time, he was using them to make me invisible... Oh.

"No," I said, trying to conceal the immense guilt I was feeling in my voice.

"No what?" he asked, his voice sounding like I brought him out of his own thoughts.

"No, he didn't say anything else. I kinda zoned out after that too," I said, smiling bitterly. Ya, while I was wondering about Phantom's 'questionable' humanity, Phantom was fighting to keep me hidden from that ghost.

"Did it...hurt?" I couldn't help but ask. I had a big mouth like that. Of course it hurt, if the scream didn't clue me in enough. And the pain on his face...That image was going to stay with me for a while.

I heard a soft exhale from behind; he seemed to be trying to prolong his answer. "Ya, a little, but it's getting better."

I rolled my eyes, doubting that last part. I don't think he knows I can feel his hands trembling on my shoulders. I was about to bring it up-which maybe I shouldn't-when my screen started blinking. It indicated another opening to Amity from the Ghost Zone.

I sped towards the general direction, not wanting to miss it. Eventually the portal came into view. This time I didn't hesitate to go through as we were once again in the human world.

I could feel myself instantly relax a small bit. It was good to be back, not in such a creepy place like the Ghost Zone.

I let out a small sigh, which was echoed by the specter behind me.

I looked back at him momentarily sizing him up. Let's just say he did not look too good, at all. He was a mere shade compared to his normal self, which was saying a lot. He looked worn out and just bone-tired.

I sighed again, part of me regretting what I was going to say next; but I did get him into this mess after all. I couldn't help but feel responsible for him, at least for just tonight. And, by the way he looked, I wouldn't be able to just drop him off somewhere random to let him fend for himself. He probably didn't even have anywhere else to go.

I took in another breath, gritting my teeth. This was going to be painful. "Phantom," I looked at the surrounding buildings, still coasting on the jet sled.

"Yes," a gruff voice answered back. It was quiet, but I was able to still hear him.

"Do you want to come back...with me?" I paused momentarily, the words coming out slow as if my brain wasn't really processing what I was saying. Then, everything just tumbled out. "I have bandages, and you really need them, by the way. And, I figured you have nowhere else to go. My dad is away on a business trip sorta thing, so you won't be noticed at all. Besides, you really look like you need sleep-do ghosts even sleep by the way? Either way it does look like you need it."

I stopped, cutting myself off. I hated how I babbled when I was nervous. Nervous mainly because I didn't really know exactly why I was doing this in the first place. I guess I can kinda trust him...not to kill me in my sleep at least. Besides, he was pretty harmless right now.

I waited for his answer.

And waited.

Finally, I stopped, hovering in mid-air; then turned my body half way to look back at him. I almost laughed at his expression.

He was staring at me with widened eyes, as if he was a deer caught in headlights. His mouth was open, looking like he was completely shocked. I have to say it was a pretty cute expression.

I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly.

He blinked a couple times as if to adjust his vision.

"Um," he looked to the side, eyes downcast, then looked up. A small, hesitant smile spreading on his face. "Ya, I guess I can."

I couldn't help but smile back. I took a clump of his hair in my hands, sliding some of the dirt off and showing it to him. "You should probably take a shower too."

He smiled at me goofily. Something about it was familiar, but I just shook it off. I looked forward, taking up speed towards my house. I didn't know whether-or-not the fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach was good or bad but I ignored it all the same.

"Well," I stuck out my hand gesturing towards the decrepit building, looking even shabbier to me than before since Phantom was now staring at it. "Here it is in all its glory."

I couldn't help the sarcastic edge in my tone; it was the only thing that could hide the bit of embarrassment I was feeling.

I didn't hear anything from behind me, no snarky remark like I was anticipating. I glanced back to see Phantom on the verge of passing out, his form was slumping even more.

I better get him in fast.

I angled my glider through my window, thankful that it was big enough and that I left it open. I didn't really want to use the front door, considering the fact it was an apartment complex, and somebody could spot Phantom, which would spell disaster for the both of us, probably more for him than me.

We entered my room. Instead of letting my sled disappear from under my feet, I hovered further down until we reached the floor (A cool trick I learned a couple months ago). The sled disappeared from under us, residing back in the folds of my feet; I retracted my suit as well, returning to my usual attire.

Phantom was leaning heavily on the wall, his breathing coming out in long drawn out breaths.

He looked like he was going to fall unconscious any minute. I drew in a long breath, walking out the room. I turned down the hall into my Dad's, searching through his drawers for something Phantom could change into, his suit looked like a complete mess with the rips and grime on it. He was not going to sleep on anything until he cleaned up.

I found a regular old black t-shirt and some grey sweats. They looked a little bigger than Phantom, but they'd do.

I walked back to the room. Phantom was still in the same spot I left him, but he was looking at me questioningly. I shoved the clothes into his hands, then took one of his wrists, leading him to the bathroom. He stumbled obediently behind me without remark; God, he must be tired.

I turned on the lights and gave him a little push, making him go in the small room involuntarily. He looked back at me, still looking dazed and confused.

I raised my eyebrows, looking at him then the shower, then back at him. "The clothes should fit you, and don't use up all the hot water."

I closed the door, that was the only form of generous conversation I could muster. I was never good with the whole bedside manner thing, and I wasn't exactly comfortable with trying to improve them, now. I heard the water running; I couldn't help but smile as I went back to my room to wait.

I looked at my bed momentarily, feeling a little fatigue myself; but I continued on, ignoring the urge to just drop on it and surrender to sleep.

I cleared a section of the floor next to my bed, picking up the usual dirty clothes and textbooks along with various ghost weapons. When that was finally done, I went to the closet, pulling out blankets and pillows, left over from the times when I sued to have sleepovers with Paulina and Starr. They were clearly unused for a while.

I spread them out delicately; all the while, I couldn't help but think what happened today. Here I was making a bed for Phantom in my room. I couldn't help but see the irony in this. But, I had to admit, I no longer truly felt like he was my enemy. It's kinda hard after the guy almost died for me, and if what that ghost said was true. If he is somehow human-like. Then, Phantom could be a possible ally, a very powerful ally. It was a long shot, but after today, anything is possible.

I finished that last details of the makeshift bed, still considering the possibilities of an alliance. There was a box that I must have missed sitting in the way as I backed up to see my work. I picked it up, seeing that it was a first aid kit. Dad got this for me after he learned I was going to continue the ghost hunting thing. I never truly needed it, only for small stuff like scrapes and bruises.

I checked the inside of it, taking inventory. There were still tons of bandages in it along with antibiotics and cleaner. I thought of the burn on Phantom's shoulder and the cuts on his arms. Well, at least this will be put to good use tonight.

I walked to the bathroom, not hearing the water, so the coast was probably clear. I flung the door open to see Phantom holding the black t-shirt in his hands; the sweats were-thankfully-already on. My cheeks flushed as I held my breath, afraid of what kind of noise would come out.

His chest was defined, equipped with broad shoulders and well toned looked like they were as hard as rock. He still had a skinny form, but every part of him, from his abs to his shoulders was defined, and I could only imagine the other half of him was just the same, although concealed by the large sweats, his stance combined with his torso left room for imagination. He looked like he was built to fight. His muscles were firm and lithe, making him have a certain grace even when he was just standing there. He didn't look like Dash Baxter, pushing his brute strength around like a weapon, but it was more contained, brimming from beneath, somehow coming across as more threatening and dangerous. He didn't even seem to be aware of this.

I finally tore my eyes away from his body, screaming at myself to get a grip. I looked at his face to see what he was thinking. He generally looked surprised as a small blush creeped on his cheeks. But, that wasn't what concerned me. His eyes looked like great bruises on his pale face, the angles on his face appearing sharper. His white hair was still wets and framed it, sticking up in different directions. He looked haggard and completely exhausted.

He began to put on the shirt hurriedly, the blush growing, but I stopped him. "You might want to leave it off for now." I raised the first aid kit, showing him. "I figured you would need this."

He nodded, giving me a small smile. "Thanks."

"Welcome." I opened the box, getting out the supplies necessary.

I saw his hand reach for the cleaner, already getting to work on some of the deeper scrapes on his arms.

I looked at him as he did his work; he looked as if he'd done this many times before. I was't really too sure how that assumption made me feel, but it did make me sort of queazy thinking about it.

I looked at the rest of his injuries, my eyes stopping on a spot on his arm. It was where he was injected with whatever that ghost gave him.

The spot looked worse than the burn on his shoulder, appearing sickly as a big black/green bump protruded his skin as if his body was trying to push the toxin out of him.

A sigh escaped his lips as he took some of the gauze, wrapping them expertly around the injection spot on his arm. There was no real need to cover it, but he probably didn't like the sight of it as much as I did. He didn't bother with the burn; it was nearly healed anyway. They were probably healing before that crap was put into him.

He started to put everything back-in perfect order, might I add, another reason to suspect he's done this before- I couldn't help but notice the way his body moved with the simplest of motions like this. His muscles constricting and and flexing with every move.

I stood there, memorized for a second; then, realizing what I was doing, I shook my head. I'm a ghost hunter for Pete's sake. I should not be looking at a ghost this way..like-like a teenage girl. It was out of the question. I clenched my fists, starting to get frustrated with myself. Phantom, despite the possibilities that he is different, he is still a ghost. He is still not human. Which means, I should still view him as such.

I was brought out of my thoughts from a hand waving rapidly in front of my face. For a second, I didn't realized it was the ghost-boy's because it looked so much like a regular person's without the white glove covering it. The only thing off about it was the slight glow that came off of it. "Valerie?"

"Uh, ya?" I bumped his hand away from my face, but smiled to soften the action. I looked at him, noticing he was now wearing the black shirt I gave him. Good, now, I won't get distracted.

"Thought I lost you there for a sec," he said, smiling. "I was asking if you were hurt anywhere?-I didn't see Plasmius hit you, but something coulda happened..."

He trailed off, looking me over himself to see if there was any sign of injury.

"No, he didn't."

Thanks to you. I looked down momentarily.

He smiled, relief in his tired eyes. I didn't really know why he looked so relieved because it wasn't like I was on the floor in pain or anything.

The smile slipped away, the corners turned down as his eyes became dazed. He gripped the counter hastily, his shape curling in on itself.

Oh boy, I ducked under his arm, supporting him so he wouldn't fall. I looked up at him-part of me noting he was taller than me-to see his expression starting to clear. "I'm fine," he breathed.

"Ya, okay." I blew him off, guiding him to my room. He was still leaning on me heavily.

Once we got there, he collapsed on the makeshift bed, his eyes closed but I could tell he was still awake. I fell on my own bed, but got into a position so I could see him. I couldn't help but chuckle at how out of place he looked, arms spread out, laying on the floor, in my room among spare sheets of paper, ghosts weapons, and clothes. Aw, irony just loves me, I swear.

"Why are you laughing?" I looked over to see him to see he was staring at me with those electric green eyes.

I chuckled again. "Because, I never would have thought the day would turn into this direction. A ghost in a ghost-hunter's bedroom. Kinda an odd thing to hear."

The ghost-boy chuckled, it was a light and carefree sound. "Ya, definitely weird to picture."

I looked over to see him smiling back at me; I sighed. "You know you're gonna have to explain."

His smile grew smaller until it disappeared. His eyes downcast. "Ya, I figured..." He sighed, then fixed me with his gaze. "Where should I start?"

"How bout the dog."

"It wasn't mine! You gotta be-"

I raised my hand. "I do. Just tell me what happened."

"There's not much to say about that. It just randomly showed up, and when it did, I didn't know how to control it exactly." He paused, giving me a side-ways glance, a smirk forming. "And, I was still new at the whole ghost fighting thing. So when the dog came near you-oh by the way it was because he wanted to get his toy from the place your dad worked at- disaster would happen.

"I didn't mean for any of that to happen to you, I swear. I just couldn't stop the dog at the time. And, whenever you saw me with him, I was trying to put it back in the Ghost Zone."

I nodded, filing all this information away. "And what about the Pariah thing; why did you take my mask off in front of my dad? You know that really got me in a lot of trouble, right?"

I wanted to know how he was going to answer this because I truly couldn't think of any reason as to why he would do it.

"It was the only way to stop you without harming you. The suit you were about to use would have killed you." I was about to object when he cut me off. "No, it would have. It almost killed me."

"What? You took it to stop the ghost?" I saw him flying off in it on the news, but I was never too sure what happened.

Phantom yawned (I probably should let him sleep but I needed to get my answers). "Ya, I fought him. It took all my power to stop him, and it still wasn't enough. Another ghost was able to turn the key to his sarcophagus while I held him in. I was down to having four percent power left. It was definitely a close call. "

"How did you get out?"

"Someone found me," he answered simply. Of course, he would be vague. Of course. I tried to picture somebody in the town finding the ghost-boy passed out somewhere, but couldn't manage it. There would have been some reports about it or even a rumor.

"And," I said slowly, "you did all that for this town. Why? Why even bother?"

"Because," he looked at me as if the answer was obvious, "it's the right thing to do. I have the power to stop these ghosts and I don't want anybody getting hurt because I didn't do anything."

"Ya, but you get hurt," I looked at his arm, I could see his bandage peaking out from under the sleeve of his shirt.

He only shrugged. "It's not that bad."

I thought of all the times I've watched him get thrown into a building, took a punch, an ecto beam. I thought of all the times I've shot at him. He didn't have to put up with it; he could just go somewhere else where it didn't have to be his problem. He didn't choose to have to fight everyday, to be kidnapped by some crazy ghost, to be shot at constantly by ghost hunters.

I don't even think he chose to be a ghost in the first place. For the first time, I actually thought about his human life, of how he could have died. He probably didn't choose to die and become a ghost. And, he probably didn't want to be like this.

"Do you regret it?" I asked, not able to help myself. "Do you regret being a ghost? Being like this?"

Being different from the rest of the ghosts while also not able to fit in with humans. I wanted to ask that, but I knew that would be crossing the line. It must be hard being an outsider-I had a little taste of it when I was first kicked out of the popular crowd-and I didn't want to shove it in his face, no matter how much my curiosity burned.

"It's not all that bad," he said, smiling as he stared at a particular spot on the ceiling. "I remember my first time flying," he laughed, "almost took out half of Amity with my inexperience, but I felt so happy, like nothing, not even gravity, could stop me. It is one of the things I never want to take back. Times like those...I don't mind being what I am. Maybe in the end it's meant to be, y'know." He looked over at me, breaking his stare-off with the ceiling. I fidgeted a bit under his serious gaze. What is with this kid and giving me the intense stares? Maybe it was just the fact that I still wasn't used to those eyes yet; with that color every emotion that passed through them seemed to be blown up times ten. "Would you go back? To when you weren't a ghost hunter?"

"No," I said, thinking of everything I've been through. "I have to admit that dog changed my life for the better. I, now, understand who my true friends are and the importance of hard work. I know there's more important things in life than popularity and the newest fashion...It's the people that matter."

I couldn't help but picture my dad, Starr, and...Danny. They were the good things in my life; they were the people that mattered, not the A-Group, not money.

"Well, at least one good thing came out of that mess," he said, smiling at the ceiling, although his eyes began to droop, blinking more slowly as he stared sleepily at it.

I turned away, looking up at the spot above my head, where the picture of the ghost lying on my floor was still pinned. It was mocking me in a different way now; it was showing me how stupid I was, for letting all of this get out of hand. For not ever giving him a chance.

"You know," I took a deep breath, "this is really hard for me to say. I'm not really good at the whole expressing how I feel thing. But, I want to say...I was wrong. You are not like the others, and maybe I don't trust you all the way, now; but I do trust you to be what everybody else thinks you are.

"I guess I was just so bent on you being evil that I didn't really see that despite so many clues, you weren't. And, after tonight...what you did...if you wouldn't have jumped in the way-between that ghost and me-I really don't know what would have happened. So,...thank you. And..." I paused, staring at the poster, the object of all my hate, my pointless hate. I realized now that Phantom didn't deserve it. He was trying to help all along. "And, I'm sorry."

There was silence.

Followed by more silence.

Huh, I would have expected for him to speak by now. A 'thank you' or something. I looked over, rolling on my stomach so I could get a better view.

I let out a small chuckle. Phantom was sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed, and snoring slightly. His breathing was deep and slow; his hair was covering bits of his closed eyes, the white locks in damp tangles.

I could only shake my head; he would pick the time to fall asleep when I was making an epiphany. I only shrugged to myself; oh well, his loss.

I looked down at the sleeping boy, imagining those electric emerald eyes in place of his closed lids. "You know, you are one weird ghost, Phantom. But," I smiled down at him, "you're alright."

With that I turned off the light, falling asleep to the sounds of the ghost-boy's soft intakes of breath.

A/N: Okay, don't be mad at me. I honestly did not have anytime to post because I was busy with so much graduation stuff, exams, and college prep. Graduating is both a dream and a nightmare. But, I am out of school now; and have all the time in the world, which is basically going to consist of training for soccer and writing...ya I have no life. Well, I hope you liked the chapter! It's not that good, I had some major writing block, and I had to work some kinks out (I haven't written in so long!). Thanks again for reading :)

Invader Johnny asked a really good question (or made a good assumption) and I think everybody is probably wondering as well. (I'm in Valerie's point of view and she doesn't know everything about Danny so there is no way I can possibly tell you this kind of stuff without the story going totally out of sequence)

Invader Johnny: Well Plasmius is a bastard we all know that but what surprises me here is that Danny still hasn't reverted back to human even after technically being drained of his ghost powers.

There must be a reason for that.

Tay: Good question, well I can't really come out and say it because I'm in Valerie's perspective and she doesn't know anything. So, the injection doesn't drain his powers just makes them unusable, so that's why he hans't reverted. Also, he is stronger so he can maintain Phantom form when tired or weak.


	4. Well, This Is Interesting

I started to wake as the first rays of sunlight hit my face, streaming from the window.

I squinted my eyes against the light and slowly opened them. Everything appeared normal looking in my room, not at all reflecting the major changes that happened last night. But, there was one thing different about my room... I took in a deep breath as I stretched myself out further on the bed. I rolled over, laying on my side. I expected to see nothing but blankets and pillows on the floor since Phantom was notorious for disappearing (no pun intended); but I was surprised to see him still there.

He was fast asleep with one arm sprawled out carelessly and the other resigned on his chest, moving in time with his slow breathing. His lips were slightly parted, face tilted in my direction. The light from the window played with the angles of his face, making his long eyelashes cast deep shadows down his cheeks.

He looked so innocent. I never thought that Phantom and innocent would ever go together, but I guess I wouldn't have ever thought Phantom would be in my room either. With that white hair and soft glow encasing his body, he looked very much like some otherworldly creature-mysterious and untouchable.

I cocked my head; seeing him like this would definitely need some getting used to.

I wondered how long he was going to sleep. I couldn't picture him being a normal teenager, one that could sleep in at least til noon, but then again, he's proven me wrong before.

I waited for about fifteen minutes, just staring at him as if he was something I've never seen before, which was partly true. I wasn't used to seeing him so...still. All of my other memories of Phantom was him moving so fast I could barely catch him let along see him lingering in one spot for too long. Then again, I was chasing him at those times.

I finally got bored and couldn't wait any longer, so I took the bouncy-squishy ball-the one that I won at some fair-from my nightstand and threw it at him. "Wake up."

I didn't mean for it to hit his head, but I guess old habits die hard, what-do-you-know.

"Gah!" he jumped as the ball hit him, reacting instantly, he rolled over until he hit his head on my wall, looking very ungraceful might I add.

I couldn't help but laugh as he looked dazedly up at me as if he was just registering where he was. He blinked at me blankly a few times, resembling a deer caught in headlights, then, slowly started to get up into sitting position, back on the wall, rubbing the spot where he hit his head.

He began to smile at me. I don't really know why, but it was nice to see that. "Hey, have you ever heard of waking someone gently? You almost gave me a heart-attack."

I shrugged, giving him a smile. "I was never one for being subtle."

"Huh," he smirked, "I would have never guessed."

His eyes roamed around the room as if he was taking it in for the first time. I guess he was too delirious last night to truly process where he was. His eyes stopped on the clock on my nightstand; they widened slightly. "Eight o'clock!" he put his head back on the wall, closing his eyes. "Seriously, could you have at least waited until nine?"

I smirked at him, "Oh, suck it up; it's not that early. Besides, I didn't know that ghosts need to sleep," I teased, but I was really wondering if it was true or not.

"Well, I do," he said as he let out a big yawn, squinting his eyes in a cute, kinda funny way.

"Still tired?"

He looked at me levelly, "It's eight in the morning, of course I am."

"It's not that early." I said again; actually, this was sleeping in for me.

He gave me a weak glare, and rolled back to the makeshift bed, settling on to his side, still facing me, and pulled the covers up until the only thing I saw was a tuff of his unruly white hair poking out.

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh, no," he shook his head, still under the covers, but his stomach growled, telling me a different story.

I smirked at him. "Come on, ghost-boy; I will make you breakfast Valerie style.

* * *

><p>"This is Valerie style?" he asked, sarcastically, might I add, as he stared down at the bowl of cereal in front of him.<p>

I smiled, almost laughing at his expression. "Yep."

"Well, better than what I usually have."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Oh, and what is that?"

"Nothing. I usually can't get breakfast."

I looked at him questioningly, wondering if he meant that he didn't have food. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

He smiled at me, apologetically when he saw the look in my eyes, "I meant, I normally don't have time to eat because ghosts like to attack in the morning. They're annoying like that."

Huh, I always thought ghosts attacked at night...then, again, I've seen them around during the day, during school. I silently agreed with Phantom's last statement. Definitely annoying.

Which, made me think of the last ghost both of us encountered. He wasn't just annoying but dangerous too. More dangerous than any ghost I've ever faced off. And, for some reason he wanted Phantom. "So," I said, not able to bite my tongue. I looked down at my cereal, playing with the disregarded pieces with my spoon. "speaking of ghosts..." I looked up at him, to see his solemn expression. I guess he already knew what I was going to ask so I might as well ask it. "Who was that ghost from last night?"

Phantom looked to the side, a lot of emotions passed through his eyes: anger, disdain, frustration, and a bit of fear. I could tell this ghost and he had a very bad history with each other.

"Vlad Plasmius," he said, making the name sound dirty as if just saying it was a curse. "He's powerful and insane. Also, in desperate need of a cat."

I raised my eyebrow at him but let the comment pass. I focused my gaze on him, he looked back at me, staring. "Why is he after you?" I asked, trying to see what the ghost wanted with him. Sure, Phantom was powerful; but why did this ghost have such an interest in him to the borderline of obsession?

"Because," he let out a staggering breath as if the next part was going to be hard to say, "he wants me to be his son, his apprentice."

"Why?"

He shrugged, but I could tell he knew. "He...it's just really complicated. Even I don't entirely know why...but I guess he feels like we are...alike. But, he's wrong. I am nothing like him. He's evil, and he doesn't care about anybody but himself."

He was now glaring at the table, his voice ringing with conviction.

I looked at him with my on conviction, saying simply. "You're not."

He looked at me a bit shocked. "What?"

"You're nothing like him, Ghost-boy," I reiterated, sounding just as sure as the first time. Picking up both of our bowls, I turned to the sink; but I didn't miss the small smile that began to spread on his face.

* * *

><p>I, later, found him in the bathroom, staring at the sickly green bump on his arm. His expression was a mixture of grim worry.<p>

"It's not gone?"

He jumped, looking up at me with wide eyes. I was surprised that I startled him; he must have been in some really deep thought not to notice me.

He relaxed a little; then, looked back down at the puncture mark, his frown becoming deeper. He looked as if he was disappointed about something. He shook his head, answering my question.

He put his back to the wall, gripping his head as he looked up at the ceiling; I could see anguish in his eyes. "I can't even turn my hand invisible."

I frowned, knowing that he should have at least healed a little bit. I could already see the stress building up in him; I smiled at him, forcing my tone to be light to bring up his spirits. "If there's a ghost attack, don't worry, I'll be there to fill in."

"Val, no offense, but I don't want that. I don't want you ghost hunting...I don't even want the Fentons doing it. Just one shot...one shot and you could get killed. And, it would be all my fault."

I was starting to get annoyed by his stupid need to always be the hero, and I was getting even more annoyed with him always blaming himself. Huh, go figure, a couple days ago, I would have agreed that everything was his fault. Now, I was fighting him on that very notion. Ah, irony just loves me, let me tell ya.

I crossed my arms, "First of all, I can take care of myself, thank you very much. And, second of all, if that does happen, it would be my fault because I couldn't block a shot, not your's. So stop trying to blame yourself for things you have no control over. 'Cause shit happens; you just need to live with it."

I was still trying to have a light tone, but my humor was failing me. Phantom just looked even more distraught. Jeez, this kid seriously needed to chill.

He shook his head at me, appearing much older than he was. "It is my responsibility. Only mine. Not your's."

I groaned, throwing my hands up in frustration. "You're stubborn, you know that?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face, "So I've been told." But, just as fast as it came, it disappeared, changing into a frown once more. "You need to have a normal life, Val. You deserve it; you don't deserve any of this. Trust me, you don't want this."

I could tell he was speaking from experience by the sadness and grief in his tone and eyes, which made me wonder what exactly he's been going through; but that didn't make me give in. I put my hands on my hips, giving him a look. "And, why do you think that?"

"Because I want to be," he looked down at the ground, glaring at it, which seemed to make the green depths in his eyes become even more vibrant with life. "Most teenagers worry about acne and what table to eat at for lunch, but, no, I worry about property damage and staying alive." He looked up at me, his gaze even more intense, which I didn't even believe was possible. "I don't want that for you, not anybody."

I was taken aback for second by the amount of compassion in his expression. "Why do you even care?" I whispered, remembering that just the other day I was shooting at him. Why would he want the best for me when I was his enemy?

"Because I don't want to see anybody ever get hurt, especially because of me, not being able to do something that I should." He was looking at me in a way that I knew he was including me when he said 'anybody.' He looked down, glaring at his arm, "And, now, I messed up again; I can't help anybody."

"But, it's not your responsibility, and you can't help this!" I insisted, gesturing towards his arm. He was being ridiculous. He shouldn't be so hard on himself to think that everything bad that happened in this town is his fault.

"Yes, it is, and yes, I could have. I should have been stronger. I should be stronger."

"Do you even realize how ridiculous you are sounding right now?"

"You don't understand!" he threw his arms up, frustration in his voice. His eyes became brighter for a split second.

I was about to reply, mouth open and ready, but something stopped me. A trickle of-it was a weird mixture of red and green-blood started leaking out of his nose. I couldn't help but gasp, "Phantom?"

Seeing my alarm, he looked in the mirror. He brought a shaking hand to his nose, the blood dripping on his fingers. He looked completely shocked. "What's-"

He cut off abruptly as he gripped the counter, his knees shaking; his whole form looked unsteady as it began to shake. I ran over to him, putting my arm around him to support him. "Hey, Phantom? Phantom?"

He released a small groan as his body collapsed; luckily I was still able to hold him up. I gently laid him on the bathroom floor. I looked at his eyes; he was barely conscious. He was breathing heavily just staring at me, trying to will himself to stay with me. "Hey, look at me, okay? Just stay with me."

But, no matter what I said, I could already see he was going under. His eyes began to close. I gripped his shoulder, shaking him. "Phantom? Come on, Phantom!"

His eyes rolled back, closing, head dropping to the tile with a thud.

"Danny!" I exclaimed hysterically, my last attempt to wake him, but I knew lost him.

"Phantom..." I whispered.

I looked at him, hoping that he would wake up; he seemed to always bounce back so easily... He was extremely pale, which made the bags under his eyes stand out even more. He looked frail and weak, nothing at all like the Danny Phantom I was used to seeing. I frowned, thinking that this could not be happening; he seemed so fine before. I raked his hair out the way, but my hand stopped when it touch his clammy forehead. He was extremely warm, and something told me the fever was not a good sign, especially for him.

I just stared at him, dumbfounded, not really comprehending what was happening. He was Danny Phantom. He was strong. How could this happen? I didn't know, but the only thing that I truly processed was the blood still coming down from his nose, leaving his face stained. And, it wasn't just ghost blood; it was human as well.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, I just love making Valerie see the human side of Danny. :) Also, love her perspective, I get to be all snippy and badass...well you get what I mean.<strong>

**I finally finished this chapter! Took me forever to track down the bits of loose-leaf I wrote parts of the chapter on. But, at least I got it all. Sorry for such the long time; I guess I got really sidetracked with my other stories and soccer. Heh.**

**Oh, also, it appears that this story is going to be longer than I intended...ya. I was originally going to only do four chapters but then, at the end of this chapter I changed it because at the end of this chapter Danny was supposed to like "Oh! I'm all better now! I can go now!" and Valerie was going to be like "Well, if you ever need any help look me up!" But then, I got all in writer-mode and completely strayed from the intended plan until THIS happened. So now, this is going to be a full blown story just because I like to put too much on my plate. XD There probably are some mistakes in this chapter. I just really wanted to get it up fast because I was feeling like I was letting you guys down not updating so I took a day off of editing. (Oh, how I detest editing.) Anyway, I hope that you guys like it! (Oh, and sorry for the shortness...ya) Also, sorry for the sudden scene change, but I really couldn't think of a smoother way to go into the last scene.**


	5. Only Human

"Phantom?"

He was still on the tile floor of the bathroom. Only five minutes passed until he started to stir. His closed eyes scrunched as he let out a soft groan. He turned his head to the side, then went back again, opening his eyes. His green orbs met mine as he looked up at me.

I felt relief instantly, but I was still a bit shaken. I glanced at the blood still smeared on his face, then averted my eyes.

There was no doubt now that he was different. He was different from the other ghosts but not in the way I thought before. When I heard that ghost call Phantom human, I thought he meant his mind, the way he thought. Not this. Not actually human, or part human, or whatever he was! This was just too big to think about, too, just, unbelievable.

Ghosts weren't supposed to be like humans. First of all it was impossible, but, then again, this was Phantom. He practically wrote the book on making the impossible become possible.

"What happened?"

I jumped slightly at his voice, part of me surprised of how rough it sounded. I looked at him; he still looked awful. And, that wasn't making me feel any better. "I don't know; you just passed out," I answered quickly.

He began to pull himself up; I noticed his arms were shaking.

I put my hand on his chest, pushing him back down to the floor. "Whoa, what do you think you're doing?"

"Uh, getting up?" he questioned, baffled.

"I don't think so. You just almost ate bathroom tile; you are not getting back up until I know you are okay." Jeez, was he always like this; he seemed to can't sit still for more than one second.

He gave me a withering look. "But, Val, I'm fine," he said, taking my hand off his chest; he propped himself up with his elbows.

"Yeah, sure you are, but you are still not getting up." I put my hand back on his chest, pushing down until he was flat on his back again.

I kept my hand there a little bit longer, just to make sure he wouldn't try to get back up. I couldn't help but notice how my hand went up and down in time with his breathing. Man, that will definitely take some time getting used to, if I ever. He heaved a sigh of defeat, crossing his arms, peering up at me. "This is stupid."

"No, you're stupid for thinking I would let you get up, especially after that."

"I'm fine," he muttered. I smiled at his expression; with his pouting lips and glaring eyes, he looked like a little kid.

I sat back on my heels, crouching, my eyes fixed on him. "Now, what do you think happened?"

His expression didn't change, "Can I at least sit?" He shifted slightly as if it was uncomfortable for him to be in laying position.

I rolled my eyes, but made no effort to stop him as he propped himself up, back against the wall in sitting position. His head rested on wall, tilted back, eyes closed.

I raised an eyebrow at him, slightly annoyed with the ghost. "Are you going to answer my question?"

His eyes snapped open, looking at me. For the first time, I noticed how dull the color looked. They didn't have their normal light. This made me even more worried because I was finally starting to get used to their unusualness, and this difference wasn't at all comforting.

He looked down at his cupped hands, residing on his lap. "I don't know. I just felt really weak all of the sudden, and then, next thing I knew I was waking up to you screaming my name."

"I wasn't screaming it," I corrected.

Phantom made a face, "Sounded like you were."

I rolled my eyes but ignored him. "But really," I said, looking at him steadily, I put my hand on his leg, "are you sure you are okay?"

I didn't want him to lie. I wanted him to tell me the truth, about what was truly going on with him. I knew it wasn't my place to want something like that or even to expect it, but I wanted to help him like he helped me. And, deep down I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He didn't meet my eyes, his stare fixed on the tile floor, the spot where he collapsed. "I-I don't know," he paused, taking a breath, "but, I know something's wrong with me."

"Hey," I said, waiting until he met my eyes to continue. "Don't worry; we'll fix it." I smiled at him. At first he looked a little shocked, but he slowly smiled back, some of the light returning to his eyes again although he still looked tired.

I sighed, knowing the next thing I was going to say was going to make that smile disappear, but I had to know. It wasn't something I could just ignore and write off. I had to know why Phantom's blood had human blood in it as well. Ghosts weren't supposed to have human blood mixed into their own. It wasn't possible, period. "There's something else too," I said slowly. "I saw-your blood; it was green...and red." I stopped, watching his expression. Phantom was definitely not the poker face type, if you know what I mean. I could see all the emotions play out on his face: shock, shame, and most of all fear. I was taken aback for a second by the pure panic I saw raging in his eyes. I couldn't believe I was even seeing this, let alone thinking this, but he was scared... Of me? Or was it me exactly, or was it what I was saying? I hurriedly continued, not wanting him to make a run for it and disappear like he always did. Then again, he didn't have his powers so it would kind of be easier to catch-anyway, focus, Gray. "Look, I know something is different with you; I know that was human blood. But, I don't get it. You're a ghost, right? I mean you have ghost powers, you sort of look like one-" I cut off, looking him over.

Phantom was sitting their in a regular bathroom, on regular bathroom tile, wearing a normal black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Even the way he was sitting looked normal, he wasn't floating, wasn't doing any freaky ghost things. Just sitting there looking at me, looking like any regular teenager. To top it off, he looked tired as hell, and just plain haggard. He didn't at all resemble the powerful Danny Phantom I was used to seeing, the one who was always on the news, who I always fought, who always seemed to be so damn perfect and untouchable.

No, he didn't look like that at all now. He looked like a scared teenager, who's world just got turned upside down and couldn't do a thing about it. He looked human. That's when I finally realized that Phantom wasn't as invincible as I thought he was; for the first time ever, I saw that he was like me, a teenager in too over his head with no way to get out.

I just stared at him. Somehow, that realization only made him even more extraordinary.

He tensed, looking at me as if he was a deer caught in headlights. I looked away hastily. "Look, you don't have to tell me. I-I get it, having a secret. But, it would help a whole lot if you could trust me. I mean I know I don't really deserve it, but I'm trying to understand. I'm trying to help."

He stayed silent; I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, those eyes piercing me. "And, it's not like I haven't figured the main parts out. I know you are not just a ghost; you're somehow human. It really wasn't that hard to piece together after I saw your blood." I looked into his eyes. "I just want to know how?"

His panicked expression seemed to melt, his whole body finally relaxing, although it was still stiff. He took a staggering breath. All the while, he eyes never left mine. "You really are too damn smart, you know that?"

I smiled at him, hoping that that was the signal that he was going to finally open up.

He lifted his hands to his head, raking his hair back, looking at the ground. He sighed, "I-I don't really know how to explain. Yeah, I'm not just a ghost; I'm half human too. But," he looked at me, his expression uneasy and slightly uncomfortable, "you already knew that didn't you?"

I nodded. "But how? How-what happened?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Short version, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got in...an accident. And, well, the next thing I knew, I was like this." He gestured towards himself. "Ta-da," he said flatly.

"So, does that mean... Can you-" I cut off. What was I thinking? I couldn't ask that! Shut-up, Gray. Shut up!

"Can I, what?" he asked, cocking his head curiously to the side.

Well, too late now. "Can you still...die?"

He paled, his expression growing even more uneasy; but he answered anyway. "Yeah, I can."

I blanched, my eyes widening. I thought of all the times I almost, I almost _killed_ him. I almost killed another human. And, that meant... He could have died in any of those battles with the other ghosts. I stopped breathing for a second, thinking of how completely wrong I was about him, of how stupid I was. He was risking just as much as me; I looked at his arm, the protruding bump still showing, the veins around it were showing a deep, sickly green. I thought of that ghost just kidnapping him and locking him in a prison cell.

He was risking way more than I ever did. I didn't have enemies like that, enemies that constantly came after me. No, my two lives were completely separate. Once I was out of my hunter gear, I was just Valerie Gray; no ghosts ever came after me when I was off duty, seeking me out, unlike him. He wasn't ever safe like I was.

"Here," he took my hand suddenly. My eyes widened at his touch. I was expecting coldness, but his hand was just as warm as mine if not warmer; I made a mental note to later check if he still had a fever.

He guided my hand over to his wrist and pressed my forefinger and middle finger down on it. We waited in silence for a second. I didn't really know what to expect, but then, I felt it. It was a slow rhythmic beat. His heartbeat. I gasped; it was one thing knowing but another entire thing experiencing it. He had a heartbeat.

He let go of my hand, but it lingered there for a second longer, still feeling the beats of his heart. I probably looked shocked beyond belief when I looked back at him; he smiled hesitantly at me.

I pulled away but remained closer to him, trying to process everything. For some reason, this didn't comfort me because all of the sudden, he looked breakable. Feeling his heartbeat put an expiration date on him; and, from what I've seen, I couldn't help but think that it was soon. All of the sudden I noticed everything about him because I knew now that he was living, that he could die, meaning that he had weaknesses. He could be affected. I noticed how his breathing was coming out a bit forced, how his shoulders seemed to cave in on his body, how he was shaking like a leaf in the wind, the beads of sweat on his forehead, and, most of all, his arm, that horrible bump where that awful stuff was injected into him. It was even more swollen than last time, and the veins surrounding it were tinged with the same sickly green, making it looking like it was burrowing its tendrils deep inside of him, spreading its poison. And-

My eyes widened. I finally noticed how big it was now. The green was now deeper into his arm, in the veins of his forearm, making them stand out in his skin. Whatever it was, it was spreading.

"Phantom," I gasped, taking his arm before he could even utter a response.

I hiked up the sleeve of his t-shirt. My eyes widened even more when I saw the poisonous green outlining in the veins of his upper arm and shoulder. My stomach turned. "Take off your shirt." He was staring with horror at his arm, his eyes looking like saucers; he looked like he didn't hear me. "Take off your shirt now," I said in a more forceful tone to get his attention.

His gaze snapped back at me. He looked dazed and distracted, but he obeyed, taking off my father's shirt.

I couldn't ever prepare myself for the sight I saw. The poison- I didn't know exactly what it was, but it definitely looked like that- was covering the upper half of his chest, looking like sickly tendrils infecting his body. They moved in sync with his breathing, making it look even more ghastly. It looked painful, horrible, terrible, anything you could think of; it looked like it was sinking into him, taking over.

A bit of the green moved even farther down, reaching the lower half of his torso, making the vein it was occupying become visible. I shivered.

My hand shakily touched the green vein. I felt smooth skin, but the vein itself was risen just a bit from his skin, making it even more horrible to look at because it was tangible just as much as it was visible.

Phantom inhaled sharply, no doubt just as disturbed as I was. I managed to tear my eyes away from his chest and look at his face. He was staring down at himself; he looked even paler than before. "I think," he said breathlessly, still staring at the tendrils of green creeping across his chest, "we found the problem."

I could only nod, not really understanding how he could sound so calm, especially with how awful it looked. "But, the question is, how do we stop it?"

Phantom began to move, he put a shaking hand on the wall, slowly getting up to standing position. His eyes were focused, staring straight ahead as if he was determined not to look at himself, at the terrible thing that was in his body.

Unconsciously, I followed, getting up as well.

He shook his head at nothing in particular, seeming to be berating himself. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Well, it is; now, do you have any idea how we can stop this?" I pointed out.

He looked down at himself again, tracing the poisoned veins that were showing. "It's moving to my heart..." he said, steadily.

I looked at him, I was starting to get scared now. This wasn't good at all; if whatever that stuff was got to his heart... I couldn't even think about it. I shook my head; I was sure as hell not going to let that happen.

"Can you think of anything that can stop this; there must be a way, right?" I asked, trying to mask the panic I was feeling.

He looked up, back at me. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Then, his eyes brightened. "Actually, I can. Frostbite can help."

"What, who's Frostbite?" I asked; I thought that Phantom said he didn't have any allies.

"A friend, one of the few I have in the Ghost Zone."

I put my hands on my hips, determination set in my jaw, "Well, I guess we better get going."

His jaw dropped, surprise in his eyes. "Wait, you want to come with me? You? To the Ghost Zone. To meet another ghost."

"Well, yeah," I said, sounding like this should be obvious to him. I could tell he wasn't thinking the same thing I was by his lost expression. "You expect me to just let you go to the Ghost Zone like this," I waved my hand at him. "You can barely stand."

"Hey, I can stand," he defended, puffing up his chest, obviously offended.

I raised my eyebrow at him, crossing my arms. "Yeah, uh-huh," I turned my back to him, walking out the bathroom.

I stopped at the doorframe; looking back at him, I smiled at him. And, for the first time, it wasn't forced or thought out prior; it was a natural, unconscious thing. He was still standing there, looking dumbfounded at me. His...okay I'm just gonna say it, his cute expression made my smile grow wider. "Come on, ghost-boy; we have a big trip ahead of us."

* * *

><p><strong>The End. Haha, just kidding. That would be awful though, huh? Anyways, took me forever to get this chapter out; sorry about the short length, by the way. But, yeah, at least it's out! Next up on my list of writing, I will be updating The Catalyst soon. So that will be the next thing, then it will be Dangerous Trust's turn again. :) Thanks for reading!<strong>

**Nightdreamerms:** sorry I just noticed this question, and I couldn't PM you soooooo, Danny wasn't staring at the picture because he was staring straight up and the poster of him wasn't in his view (he was only staring at a part of the ceiling, and even if so, he wasn't really seeing anything because he was super tired). Hope that answers your question :)


	6. Accepted Friendship

"Val, are you sure you-"

"For the last time," I said, glaring back at the boy on my glider, "I'm going with you! So suck it up and stop asking me if I'm sure because I'm sure."

Phantom gave me a look, half wary and half apologetic. He tore his gaze from me, looking at the temporary portal to the Ghost Zone. "So your device found this?"

"Yeah," I said, plunging into the Ghost Zone before the portal closed and before Phantom could ask me another one of his stupid concerned questions about my sureness to go with him. Jeez, what did he think I was going to do: let him go on his merry, powerless way with only a 'good luck, have fun!' I don't think so. If he thought that, he really didn't know me as well as he thought he did. "It detects high polarities in spectral energy, the kind of levels that normally indicate a portal. It's one of the features with the suit; I usually use it to help me find the ghost. They tend to stick around the spot they come from," I explained further.

"Wow," he said, his voice sounding impressed. "You got really good at this."

I smiled, enjoying the praise, especially considering who it was coming from. "Thanks," I said.

We traveled through the Ghost Zone-with little trouble thank God-with Phantom occasionally giving me directions. Turn right at the carnivorous canyon...-do not dip too low or it will eat you-turn left at the swirling vortex of doom...I had to remind myself that this was real life a couple times instead of a bad horror movie I was witnessing.

"So," I said, trying to make conversation with the him, "how do you know this Frostbite guy anyway?"

"Well," he said trailing off, he sounded a bit embarrassed to me. "I first met him when I got lost-"

I laughed at that, not really able to help it. "You got lost? In the Ghost Zone? You know you're a ghost right?" Well, sort of a ghost, but I really didn't want to delve into that subject, especially since he wasn't really going to tell me anything yet...Well hopefully that would change.

"Anyway," he said, trying his best to ignore me. "I landed-well crash landed-in his region, The Far Frozen. He was there, and I helped him out."

"And that's why you two are allies?" I asked, extremely annoyed with how vague he was being.

"Not exactly," he said with the same embarrassed tone he used from before, "he kind of thinks I'm this great savior or something along with the rest of his people."

I laughed again, "So you are an idol to big snow ghosts. How the hell did that happen?"

"Well, after the whole Pariah thing. They said that they were grateful for me defeating him," Phantom said, still finding this uncomfortable.

I peered back at him, seeing a very red in the face Phantom. My smile only grew. "Something tells me there is more to the story. What? Do they worship you or something?" I chuckled, but it soon turned into awe as his face grew redder.

"They do?" I asked, disbelief coloring my voice.

"Sorta," he managed to get out.

I barked a laugh. It was funny picturing all these ghosts worshipping Phantom, but it was even funnier that he was so uncomfortable by this.

"I see you're enjoying this," he muttered.

"Can you tell?"

"You are horrible."

I smirked. "So what happened after you found out you were the all mighty savior of the Far Frozen."

"Well," he said, "there was the whole thing with the Infi-Map."

I looked back at him, giving him a questioning look.

He just gave me an exasperated look. "Long story," he said. "But, Frostbite did help me with my ice powers. He's like a mentor to me. It was nice, for once, to have some help with my abilities instead of trying to figure it out on my own."

"Ice powers?" I asked. "I don't remember you using them in our battles."

"I didn't really like to use them against you; usually, I would just try to get away from you. I got my ice powers around the time Undergrowth attacked."

I couldn't help but shiver at the ghost's name. I remembered the way all of the town's people looked when under his influence. It was the last site I saw before I too fell under his influence. I never really did find out how the ghost was put away; I guess I knew now.

"What happened?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"With Undergrowth?"

"Everything," I confirmed, wanting to here about his ice powers too. It seemed like he was honestly grateful that Frostbite was there to help him. It was strange to hear that he needed help; he always seemed like he had everything under control. So perfect.

"It wasn't one of my best moments," he said, slowly as if he was thinking about the time. "My ice powers were different from the other ones. Maybe because it was more complex. I just never had a power consume me before. It was terrifying because I felt useless. I couldn't control it, and on top of that, I had this indestructible ghost taking over the town. I had to leave." He paused momentarily, taking a shaky breath. For the first time since we entered the Ghost Zone, it occurred to me how bad of shape he was in. I intensified the speed just a bit, remembering the poison in him. "I somehow ended up in the Far Frozen where Frostbite found me. I was badly injured and out of it. The cold was taking over. That's when he told me I was like them. I had a cold core like the rest of the Far Frozen ghosts. Frostbite helped me master my powers," he chuckled, "with a lot of practice. Luckily, I was able to get back to Amity and take down Undergrowth before anything too bad happened to the town. And, of course, ice powers were the only thing that could beat him."

I could practically see his eyes rolling.

He tapped my shoulder, then extended his hand out, pointing at land filled with ice. "There it is!"

"I see it," I said, gliding to what looked like the inside of a freezer.

Once we landed, I got a closer look at our surroundings and was surprised to see there was a village in front of us. Yes, definitely surprised.

Phantom started walking toward the village, looking a little unsteady might I add. I knew I couldn't offer him a hand because he would just say he was fine. Did I ever mention how annoying that was? Here he was, barely able to walk and probably dying-wince-yeah totally fine.

"Val, are you coming?" the boy asked, looking back at me expectantly.

I blushed, realizing that I was caught staring at him but quickly got over it and walked forward, falling into step with the ghost boy.

"So, are you sure this is okay?" I asked as we grew near to the entrance. "If I'm here?"

"Yeah, it's fine," he said, giving me a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't have let you come if it wasn't."

I smiled at him, but it soon melted when I saw the nearly ten feet tall abominable snowman standing in front of us, arms crossed, wolf eyes trained on us.

My hand twitched towards my ecto-gun, but I stopped myself. The last thing I wanted was to piss off this guy. I eyed his razor sharp teeth warily.

I looked over at Phantom to see his reaction; he looked completely relaxed, even smiling at the ghost.

As we came to a stop in front of the ghost, he smiled at us-or it looked like a smile, I really couldn't tell with how animal-like his expressions were. The ghost moved towards Phantom. I flinched back, thrusting a protective hand towards the ghost boy, but before I could do anything, the ghost gave Phantom a huge hug, completely shocking me.

"Great One!" the ghost bellow, picking the boy up in the air and holding him in his huge arms for a good thirty seconds.

The ghost finally put Phantom down and rustled the boy's hair affectionately.

I was still staring at them in shock.

"Hey, Frostbite." Phantom smiled tiredly, the gesture didn't really meet his eyes; instead they appeared exhausted and out of it.

Frostbite seemed to take note of his true appearance, now, looking at the boy up and down. No doubt he saw the same things I saw. Phantom looked worse than he did in the bathroom. The bags under his eyes were more prominent and stood out alarmingly in contrast with the paleness of his face. His posture was slightly hunched as if he was trying not to fall over either from the exhaustion of staying upright too long or from the poison, probably both. All in all, he did not look like Danny Phantom. He looked like a water-down version of him.

"What do I owe the honor of your presence, Great One?" Frostbite asked. Then, he seemed to notice me, giving me a quizzical look. "And, who is your new friend."

"This is Valerie," Phantom said lightly, "and we are here because I was hoping you can help me with a problem."

I snorted, finally getting over my shock. I glared at the boy disapprovingly. "It's more than a problem, Phantom." I looked at the ghost, taking it in my hands to explain because I knew Phantom was just going to try to downplay it into nothing. "He's been poisoned by this ghost, Plasmius. He thought that you could help him... H-he's not doing well." I eyed Phantom carefully as if he might break any minute. "The poison, it's going to his heart."

"I'm right here, you know," Phantom grumbled, giving me an annoyed look.

I rolled my eyes but continued to look at Frostbite.

I could see the horror in the ghost's face. I didn't tell the whole story, like how the poison ended up in Phantom, but I could tell he was putting the pieces together.

"Plasmius," he growled, his eyes narrowing, looking very dangerous. "When I get my hands on him..."

I couldn't help but smile at the ghost. It's like he could read my mind. And, I would be happy to help him if or when he ever figured out what exactly he was going to do to that ghost.

"But, will you help?" I asked, pretty sure I knew what the answer was.

Frostbite gave Phantom and me a determined look. "Of course I will. Anything for the Great One."

I chuckled. "Great One."

"Shut up," Phantom said, a slow blush creeping across his face.

"It's kind of catchy," I said, putting up a show of considering the name.

"Not. Funny."

I chuckled again, looking at the boy playfully. "Oh, but it is."

"Shute up," Phantom repeated, crossing his arms and glaring at me.

I smirked and did a mock bow towards him. "Whatever you say, Great One."

The boy only sighed, giving up, which made me even more worried because this definitely meant he was more tired than he let on.

"Come, Great One," the ghost said. I laughed, and Phantom winced. "We must get you to the infirmary."

The boy nodded following the ghost through the village with me by his side.

* * *

><p>I never would have thought that so many ghosts would live in one place and coincide peacefully together, at that. But, here I was, wrong again.<p>

The village was huge, having towers of ice covered buildings, resembling castles. It was even weirder to see that the village was actually like a city with streets and yeti (that's what Phantom told me they were called) ghosts going about their daily business, bustling across the streets with young ones in towed or partners at their side.

It wasn't until Phantom and I entered the streets did the bustling cease. Every ghost looked up at us, coming to a stand still, parting as we walked by. Their eyes were only on Phantom; whispers spread throughout the mass of ghosts.

I couldn't help but fidget at the attention, wondering how Phantom was handling this. It wasn't that hard to see how much he hated this sort of stuff; if he was, then, he would have stayed around for all the cameras that usually waited for him after every ghost fight.

It was like they were seeing a celebrity in person. All of them had that freaky adoring look on their faces.

As we walked by, I was able to hear some of the whispers among the ghosts.

"Oh, it's him!"

"The Great One!"

"He has returned!"

"He looks sick; is there something wrong with him."

I couldn't help but wince at that as I looked at the speaker. The yeti ghost looked female; she had her hands cupped together, looking at Phantom worryingly. The male yeti ghost beside her mirrored her expression, seeming to see what she was talking about.

I looked away from the couple, not able to meet their eyes, hoping that their hero would be cured soon. I couldn't help but think that this was all my fault. Phantom was beaten and dying all because of me. And, despite him repeating over and over to me that he was okay, I knew he was suffering. I could see it in the way he walked, as if every step was a conscious, difficult decision. I didn't have the slightest clue how he could keep going like this; by now, I probably would have given up. He was hurting; I could tell. And, it was all my fault.

I felt a nudge at my shoulder. I looked up, surprised, seeing Phantom looking at me.

He gave me a reassuring smile, but it didn't make me feel any better. The smile looked lifeless. His eyes were no longer glowing with the lively light they always did, and he no longer looked like himself. Phantom, in my mind, always seemed to have this powerful aura around him as if nothing was impossible for him, nothing could be unattainable. Now, he seemed to not have that anymore. It was replaced a different feeling as if he was about to collapse any second, as if the simple thing of him living was unattainable now.

He seemed to read the expression on my face, his eyes melting into worry.

Seriously? He was worried about me? For a second, I wanted to scream at him to start worrying about his own damn self, but I bit my tongue, knowing that I was only testy like this because of how awful I felt. There was no reason to take it out on him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I still couldn't help my surprise as I felt how warm his touch was. It was something I definitely wasn't going to get used to: the fact that he felt so human, like me.

I looked at his face, his concerned expression, the way his eyebrows creased together when he was worried, making his eyes look like they belonged to someone that was so much older than him. I wondered how I could have missed it before. He looked human, completely human. He didn't resemble the feral ghosts that I was used to fighting or even the way Frostbite looked, despite his obvious benevolence.

Phantom was in a whole other league compared to the ghosts in more ways than one.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, still staring at his eyes, the eyes that I now wished looked like what they used to, luminous and disconcerting. Now, they bothered me in a different; they reminded me of how bad off he truly was. I internally winced when I realized what I just said to him; man, he was already rubbing off on me.

I sighed, looking away at the still staring ghosts, we seemed to be moving deeper into the village, probably getting closer to the infirmary. "Look, I guess I'm not. I mean, it's just, I know you're not fine."

I heard Phantom gather an intake of breath, about to say something about how okay he was no doubt. But, I continued on, not letting him talk. "I'm not stupid, Phantom, or blind. I can see the difference, okay? Just tell me the truth. Don't sugarcoat it or try to spare my feelings. I'm a big girl; I'm pretty sure I can take it."

"That's not the only thing that's bothering you," he stated. I could feel his intense gaze on me.

I bristled, "I asked you first."

He stayed silent, staring at me.

I sighed, giving in a bit. "I will tell you after you tell me, deal?"

Phantom looked away with a hardened expression; I could practically see him beating himself up internally as if he could have stopped Plasmius from poisoning. That this was all his fault. "I'm... I feel weak," he paused. I could tell this was very hard for him to say, especially to someone. "I'm tired, like really tired. It feels like that time when I battled Pariah, when most of my energy was drained from me." He stopped, still avoiding my gaze.

"And?" I prompted, not letting him sneak out of this one. If I had to share something personal, then he will damn sure well have to too.

"And, I still feel the sharp pains. It's spreading."

He looked ashamed, like sharing this was something that he should have never done. He looked like he was ashamed that he was even hurt. I exhaled, then took in a huge breath. "I'm scared," I said. This definitely got his attention; his head shot up, looking at me in surprise. I swallowed, knowing that I was going to have to explain. Suddenly, I felt the same thing Phantom was feeling: ashamed that I was even afraid and that I was talking about it. "I'm scared that you won't make it through this. This is serious; it's not just some game anymore. And to be honest, I don't want to lose you," I paused, looking down, not really wanting to see his face, but I knew I had to say it. For some reason, I just wanted to help him feel somewhat better. "I don't want to lose my friend."

I finally looked up to see his face when I couldn't take the silence anymore.

I couldn't help but giggle when I saw his expression. Apparently, I shocked him into silence. He was staring at me wide-eyed, his expression seeming more alive than it had been for the last couple of hours.

I smiled. "What, ghost boy? Figuring out that I actually have a heart?"

He blinked blankly at me, still shocked. "No, Val, I knew you always had a heart. I just didn't think you would ever show it towards me."

I was completely struck by how sincere he was, genuinely sincere. I couldn't believe I'd missed it all along. For the first time, I thought of how easily he forgave me, how he accepted me. Maybe he accepted me all along; it was just me who had to accept him.

If there was anything that could make me feel even more horrible about myself, it was that. That did it.

I looked at him, determined now to help him in anyway I could. "We are going to get you out of this. And, then, we are going to beat the shit out of that ghost."

Phantom's answering laugh was all I heard as the infirmary appeared, looming over the both of us.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the extremely long wait. A lot of things happened to me in during these past months. But, here it is! Hope it's somewhat decent; thanks for all the support, guys! Hope you like it. (there are probably some mistakes, so sorry!)**


	7. The Elusive Cure

We walked into the infirmary; it was huge, accompanied with sick beds, examination tables, and sets of computers among other machines lining the walls. There was even a huge screen stationed in the center of the far right wall.

Frostbite led us over to one of the examination tables; it was in the middled of the room and was surrounded with by the most machines and equipment.

Frostbite made a gesture towards the table, which Phantom complied, sitting on the edge of it, his feet touching the ground, again I noticed how tall he was.

For a moment, I wondered exactly how he grew since ghosts didn't change their appearance unless it was extreme, but this was too subtle. I couldn't really figure out the whole dynamics of this so I just chalked it up to one of the many unusual things about the boy, save myself the headache.

"Great One," Frostbite said, drawing the ghost boy's attention, who seemed to be spaced out for a second. Phantom looked up at the yeti, his half closed, looking haggard. "What are your symptoms? Make sure to tell me everything so I can accurately identify the poison Plasmius used."

I couldn't help but smile when the ghost growled Plasmius's name.

"Well, I feel a little tired, and some pain," Phantom said, his voice was no louder than a murmer.

I rolled my eyes. "He's in a lot of pain," I stepped in, giving Phantom a glare.

"It's not that bad," he interrupted.

"And he has a high fever, fainted a couple times too."

"I only fainted once, and it wasn't really a faint," he defended.

I growled at him, but he only gave me a defiant look. "And this." I jerked the sleeve of his shirt up and pulled his arm out to reveal the dark green veins on the inside of his arm. They looked like they moved farther down, now occupying the veins in his wrist.

Frostbite took hold of his arm; I released it in response, my work done.

The ghost let out a feral growl, which would have scared me shitless if I didn't know the ghost was Phantom's ally. "How did this happen?" the ghost all but demanded, glaring at Phantom's arm with intense ferocity.

Phantom opened his mouth to answer, but I beat him to it, knowing that he was going to try and sugar coat the situation. And, we did not need that. "He was captured by Plasmius and taken to his lair. I found him there locked up in a cell barely conscious. The ghost injected him with something; it looked green and disgusting-might I add." I looked at Phantom, his eyes were on the ground, stubbornly not making any eye contact with anybody in the room. "Plasmius said it was supposed to stop him from using his powers and sedate him. But, I guess it did more than that."

Frostbite growled again. "Damn-it."

Phantom looked up at the ghost, surprise on his face. I guess the ghost never spoke like that before.

"I don't have the cure for this; it's very rare..." Frostbite said, looking angrier by the second. "This toxin is forbidden in the Ghost Zone. How Plasmius got this..." He trailed off, his eyes narrowing. "I will hunt him down for even thinking of harming the Great One."

"Man, you're lucky he's on your side," I stage-whispered to Phantom.

"No kidding," Phantom said, staring at the pacing ghost, practically radiating anger.

"So, the cure?" I asked. "If it's not here, then, where do you think it is."

"My guess is it's with Plasmius," Phantom said, sounding very calm, which was kind of weird, considering what we were talking about. "He would have it because he would want to control every little detail. He's a fruitloop that way."

"If he has the cure, why would he poison you anyway, just to give it to you?"

Phantom didn't answer, still staring ahead.

"Phantom," I said warningly, this was not the time to get all mysterious and secretive on me.

Phantom heaved a sigh, finally looking at me. "Do you really want to know what I think?"

I gave him a look.

"Fine," he said. "I think he gave it to me to make me suffer or give in or something like that."

"Because he wants you to be his apprentice," I confirmed, remembering what he told me.

"Yep, pretty much."

"And, he was going to give you the cure after you gave in."

"Bingo."

"That's sick," I said, making a face.

"That's Plasmius."

"He went through all that, getting a forbidden poison, finding the rare cure to give to you, and setting up all of this just to get you to join him?" I asked, trying to find some sense in this situation.

"Told you he was a fruitloop," Phantom stated, allowing a small smirk to play on his lips.

I smirked back, enjoying seeing a bit of the Phantom I was used to seeing come out. "I will never question it again."

I looked over at Frostbite; he stopped pacing, but he still looked pretty pissed off. "So how are we going to get the cure from Plasmius?"

"Plasmius has the cure?" Frostbite interrupted, immediately at my side, facing Phantom.

We both nodded, watching the ghost to see his reaction.

The ghost barred his fangs, pupils dilating. "We will assemble the army at once!"

Frostbite made a motion to move, but Phantom stopped him, his hands raised in a stopping gesture. "Whoa, Frostbite, it's only Plasmius!" Phantom looked at the ghost with wide eyes. "It would be better if Val and I go."

"What?" I all but shouted. An army of angry yeti ghosts sounded pretty terrifying to me; there was more of a chance that we would beat Plasmius than if it was just the ghost boy and me. I mean, I knew Phantom could pull off some miraculous stuff, but this was ridiculous. "Are you crazy?"

"No," Phantom answered, giving me a sideways look. "But, I do know Vlad. If we come in there guns blazing, there is no chance we will get the cure. Normally, even with Vlad, I would go in there ready to fight, but since I'm not really," Phantom looked to the side, obviously uncomfortable, "able..."

He trailed off, still refusing to look at either of us.

I sighed. "Then, how are we going to pull this off with just the two of us, Phantom?"

Phantom looked up at me, a mischievous smirk on his face, his eyes brightening for a second, returning to their once bright color. "We are going to trick him."

I just stared at him, questioning his sanity. This ghost was really going to try to do this. Go back there with hardly any ammo of our own after he almost died there last time.

"Great One," Frostbite interceded, looking hesitant. "I have never questioned your judgment before, but this does not sound very wise. You are clearly injured and in no shape to battle Plasmius in either strength or wits."

"Yeah, I'm with him," I muttered, crossing my arms.

Phantom looked at the ghost, his smirk melting into a gentle smile. "I know it doesn't seem that smart, Frostbite, but trust me, it's the best decision." Phantom shrugged, his expression becoming light, "Besides I've beaten Plasmius before."

"When you weren't poisoned," I pointed out.

Phantom ignored me, staring at the ghost, giving him that big eyed look that would have gotten any of his 'phans' in an adoring frenzy.

The ghost heaved a sigh of defeat, slumping his shoulders, making them lose all the angered tension they once had. I couldn't blame; one look at the kid's eyes made me want to give in too. "As you wish, Great One."

"Thanks, Frostbite." Phantom smiled, relief clearly in his eyes.

"But at least let me make some preparations in case there is any trouble." Before Phantom could accept or discourage the ghost from doing so, Frostbite gave a slight bow in Phantom's direction, then walked out the room.

"Okay, Great One, what is the real reason?" I demanded, putting my arms on my hips, looking at him expectantly with pursed lips.

"That is the reason," he defended, looking both surprised and offended, over-exaggerating it, might I add.

"You are a horrible liar." I confirmed, but I was still not letting him weasel his way out of this. "I know you, you wouldn't normally try to 'think' things out and be 'tricky.' I'm sorry, but you're not that much of a strategy type of guy."

"Hey, I think," he glared at me.

"Yeah, but not all the time," I said, remembering all the times he dove into a fight without giving it a second thought. Phantom was a lot like me when it came to confrontation. We were straightforward and got the job done quickly and efficiently. We both operated on the same level when it came to that; and normally, it was a good thing. There was usually not a lot of time to think deeply when you were in the heat of the battle; you had to rely on your gut and quick thinking.

"I-"

I held up my hand, stopping him. "No bullshit," I said firmly, giving him a stern look.

Phantom sighed exasperatedly, then deflated. He looked up at me, his eyes growing very intense. "Part of the reason is what I said to Frostbite. But the other part, I don't want them getting into this. It's already bad enough that you're in this. I don't want them getting hurt, especially if I can't defend them if something goes wrong."

"There is no way in hell Plasmius is able to take down a whole army of furious, yeti ghosts," I said. "Now, you must be getting delirious from the poison or something because that just sounds ridiculous."

Phantom just stared at me solemnly. "You would be surprised what he can do, Val. He has resources, minions, and most of all; he is powerful. He's destructive, and he doesn't care. And, there would be casualties. And even if he lost, he would take some of them down with him, and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let others fight my battles for me; it's my responsibility."

"Yeah, but you can accept help," I tried to reason, but my argument was beginning to weaken. I was starting to see where he was coming from. I only knew these ghosts for only a couple hours, but I didn't want to see any of them get hurt for my mistake.

"I can't let them," Phantom said, his features becoming determined, showing just how stubborn he was going to be, and trust me, from experience, I knew just how annoyingly much that was.

But, the more I thought about what he was saying, the more I was on his side. There would be casualties... "I know," I said, dropping my shoulders, my hands falling limply at my sides.

"You know, you don't have to fight either," he said, looking at me with tender green eyes. "I can figure out a way to do this withou-"

"Not a chance," I said, cutting him off. I gave him a stern look, just daring him to try to pull that on me again.

He only smiled back innocently, putting up his hands in a sign of defeat. "I had to try."

"You know you wouldn't stand a chance without me," I said, allowing a knowing smile to form on my face.

Phantom rolled his eyes, but his smile grew.

"Great One, the preparations are ready," Frostbite's voice echoed throughout the room, ringing loud in my ears.

I looked over at Phantom, he just smiled, shrugging.

He lifted himself off the examination table, standing slowly, but the action fell short, his knees began to wobble as he tried to support himself on the table with his arms, looking very pale all of the sudden.

His arms started shaking, he began to sink down to the ground.

"Whoa," I said, wrapping one of my arms around him, and taking one of his arms on my shoulder so he could lean of me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "Just-"

He let out a soft groan; I peered up at him to see his eyes were scrunched closed. He was obviously in pain.

It took a couple of long minutes, but his face finally relaxed, opening his eyes once more. He clutched his head with his free hand, his weight now heavily on me, rubbing his face, then raking it through his hair. It would have been a cute gesture if the motion wasn't lined with pain and exhaustion.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" I deducted, staring at him, he looked even weaker and fragile, as if he might break any second.

Phantom only nodded, looking down at me with dull green eyes, looking a pale shade of what they used to be as if all the light was sucked out of them.

"Come on," I said, leading us to the entrance of the room, letting him lean on me heavily, which didn't matter, I barely noticed the weight thanks to all the time I spent ghosthunting.

"Thanks," he rasped. His voice was tight and thick with pain.

I glanced at him. "No problem."

We made it to the entrance, walking out onto the snow covered street, the surrounding ice buildings were more comforting to look at this time and less overwhelming, it felt as if they were closed around us, protecting us like a cocoon, not at all foreboding or alien as they once appeared.

The snow yetis were all gathered around us, staring at Phantom mostly, but I noticed they looked at me a couple times curiously, probably wondering why Phantom was leaning on me.

Frostbite walked up to us, holding a small device in his hand. It looked like it was a wrist band or something with a couple of small buttons on it. He was looking at the ghost boy with apparent anxiousness in his eyes. "I still do not favor the idea of you going into battle with Plasmius in this state alone, Great One," he heaved a sigh, as if it pained him to say this, "but I will honor your wishes."

He extended his hand toward Phantom, opening it palm facing up to give him the device. "This will signal to us if you use it. Please use it if you are ever in any danger, this time or any other time."

Phantom took the wristband with a shaking hand. He smiled at the ghost. "Thanks, Frostbite."

The yeti nodded, then unexpectedly, grabbed the ghost boy in a bear hug.

I could here Phantom's chuckles as he returned the hug, his frame looking small compared to the giant ghost engulfing him.

Frostbite pulled away from Phantom, making sure Phantom had his balance and could stand before letting go of the boy's shoulders. "Be careful, Great One."

Phantom nodded.

Frostbite, then, looked at me.

Before I knew it, my face was engulfed in fur as the ghost hugged me too. I couldn't help but stiffen at first, but I soon relaxed, returning the hug, although not as enthusiastically. "You are a strong fighter, I can see that," he murmured in my ear, so quiet that I was sure I was the only one that could hear him. "Take care of him. He will need you to stay strong. You are strong, Valerie Gray; and if anybody can get him through this, it is you."

I could feel my throat tighten with dread. I hoped I was strong enough; I hoped I could help Phantom get the cure in time. I hoped that what this ghost said about me was true. I wanted to be what he said I was. "Thanks," I barely said, trying to get my mouth to form the word properly.

The ghost let go of me, stepping away. I tried to get my expression together, to not alarm Phantom.

I stepped closer to Phantom's side, looking at his swaying form, ready to catch him if fell or to support him if he needed it.

"You have better leave quickly if you..." Frostbite trailed off, his expression turning into dread. I looked at the other ghosts to see them having the same expressions on their faces, a lot of them looked very distraught. We all knew what Frostbite was implying. If we wanted to make it time. Before Phantom ran out of it. Before he died.

Phantom was the only one that was clueless to this. He smiled at the ghosts, then at Frostbite. "Okay," he said, already starting to walk towards the clearing beyond the city limits-which wasn't that far away from the infirmary- "I'll see you later, Frostbite."

I wanted to drag my hand across my face. This kid was seriously delirious. Or didn't have any self-preservation. Or just plain clueless. Who the hell says that when they are about to die or die trying to get a cure for something they are going to die from? Apparently, the one and only Danny Phantom.

I sighed, catching up with the ghost boy as we walked towards the clearing.

"So, do you have a plan?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, shrugging.

"You know, that's not really comforting," I pointed out.

"Don't worry; it will worked," he said as we passed the boundary of the Far Frozen.

I stopped, but he continued walking. "That's not either," I called out to him.

I heard only a chuckle from the ghost boy's receding form. I sighed before taking off after him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Told you guys I was going to get this chapter up! Just took like... 3 months... sorry. But, I as I said, I've been recovering from my injury and trying to keep my grades up in school (no reason to start doing poorly just because a knee injury :) ) anyways, thanks for all the support you guys! See ya soon.**


	8. Bad Planning, Good Timing

**Chapter 8: Bad Planning, Good Timing**

If I had to describe myself with one word, it would be confident. I, Valerie Grey, was anything if not confident. And, I, Valerie Grey, was not feeling so confident right about now.

We were outside of the giant floating football in the Ghost Zone, hunched on a floating rock nearby. I looked around us again to check for any signs of ghosts. Like every other time I checked, it was dead, not even a single wail could be heard. Part of me was not comfortable with how ominous this all felt.

"So," I said, trying to form words around my shock, "you are just going to walk back in there and play victim again..."

"Yep," he said, looking unusually calm given the circumstance.

"This is a bad plan," I said matter of factly.

"I think it's pretty good."

"What?" I asked, giving him a look. "Offering yourself up to him, trying to convince him that you're only doing it because you want to stay alive? Do you really think he's gonna buy that load of crap?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I've done it before."

I gave him a look. "Just how many times have you been in this situation?"

Phantom smirked. "That depends."

I face palmed. "Please tell me you have another plan?" Not able to hide the hope in my voice that he had a different plan, one that involved less drastic measures and more beating Plasmius to a pulp.

"Nope."

I sighed. "Okay, so when do I come in?"

"Hopefully I won't need you," Phantom said. I growled, making him hurry on, "But, stay close and hidden inside for back up. If he does catch me, I will keep him busy long enough so you can find the cure."

I nodded. "Any ideas what it might look like?"

Phantom shrugged. "Probably glowing."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like the other bazillion things in this guy's lab."

Phantom stood, looking down at me. His eyes were a pale shade of green, looking very dull compared to their usual color. The rest of him mirrored his eyes, looking like a pale comparison to the Danny Phantom I was used to seeing. It took everything in me not to grimace at the sight. He extended his hand towards me; a small smile stretched across his sickly face. It looked like even that small of an action caused pain. I took his hand, letting him help me up.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded, hopping on my sled, pulling him with me. We floated over to the football. He jumped in first to see if the coast was clear.

After a couple of painfully long minutes, Phantom's hand appeared from the football, giving me a thumbs up.

That was all I needed. Deactivating my glider, I jumped through the football into the lab, landing easily on my feet.

Phantom was in front of me, waiting patiently. "Find a hiding place while I look around," he said. "Hopefully, I will find it without running into Vlad."

He turned away, beginning to walk towards the larger part of the lab.

"Be careful." My voice came out as quiet as a whisper, but the warning tone was still there. The last thing I wanted was for Phantom to get recaptured again, especially by that psycho ghost.

He turned back, flashing me a smile. Somehow, that really wasn't comforting; it just made my stomach twist into more knots.

I looked to the side, already seeing the perfect hiding spot, a spot between the cabinet and the wall was just big enough to fit me. I walked over quietly on the balls of my feet, still hyper aware of everything around me. I could already hear the soft sounds of Phantom rummaging through the lab. I wedged myself in the spot. It was perfect in a way that it allowed me to see most of the lab without being seen myself; the only downside was that it was a little too open. If Plasmius were to be at a certain angle in the room, he would be able to see me easily, but hey, I guess beggars can be choosers.

I readied my small hand-held ecto gun, holding it close to my chest, pointing it outwards towards the opening of my hiding spot. I looked over, finding Phantom. He was still busily searching, trying to be as quiet as possible. I could practically see the tension rolling off of him.

He was now, at the far right part of the lab, looking through what looked like to be a fridge/big cooling device.

"Yes, I got it," I heard him whisper, victory clear in his voice. My eyes widened as they zeroed in the on the glass vial he was holding. It was filled with an orange glowing fluid. Well, I guess the kid was right; it was glowing. There was a label on the vial, but I was too far away to read it. I could feel the corners of my lips go up, already beginning to smile. Maybe this would be easy after all.

I really shouldn't have said that.

Plasmius appeared out of freaking nowhere, right in front of Phantom. I stiffened, almost jumping ten feet from my spot. "And, pray tell what do you think you have, Daniel?"

I wanted to shoot him right then and there, jump up from my spot and go in guns blazing, but I stayed down, trying to see what exactly this ghost was capable of. I still had the advantage of him not knowing I was here, and I wanted to keep it that way until I was sure I would be able to get both me and Phantom out of this place.

"Plasmius," Phantom hissed, but there wasn't as much of a threatening tone it should have been. His voice was more tired and cracked from strain.

Plasmius easily took the vial from Phantom's hands, looking as if Phantom all but gave it to him. The ghost raised an eyebrow at this, looking more closely at the hunched ghost boy. "I see the poison is doing it's job."

"Not that you don't know," Phantom replied. "So this is the only way you can beat me, huh? Cheap tricks like this. Well, I guess I should start adding cheap shot to your fruitloop title."

The ghost growled, his fangs and flaring red eyes, making him look even more menacing. I bit my lip, hoping that Phantom would find some good sense and use it to shut up. Phantom was leaning heavily on the cabinet; I could hear his heavy breathing all the way from over here. "Don't you realize, Vlad, that with even some stupid poison you are never going to win."

That last comment seemed to put the ghost over the edge. So quickly that I had trouble picking up the motion, he blasted Phantom into the wall, making plaster and wood flying in every direction.

I bit down on my lip hard to keep myself from screaming Phantom's name.

When the dust cleared, I saw Phantom just lying there, limbs awkwardly strewn out. His face was contorted in pain, as he gave an unsettling cough, head lulling to the side. His eyes were dull, looking dazed.

"Finally I found a way to shut you up," Plasmius said as he strolled over to the barely conscious boy. I noticed that he left the cure behind on the counter top.

I smiled, knowing that this was Phantom's intention all along. Keep Plasmius distracted and focused on him, completely forgetting about the found cure. Very good plan, but I really hated the execution. Really? The only way he could think of getting Plasmius's attention was letting him beat him to a pulp?

I began to make my way over to the cure, keeping my eyes on the two figures in front of me, watching from any changes. Luckily, Plasmius was only standing there, not yet landing anymore blows, probably realizing that Phantom was pretty much done for with that attack alone. God, I wished for the first time since ever that Phantom would get right back up and shake off the attack as if it was nothing, just liking the annoying way he did with me, although it wasn't really annoying anymore.

"You never know when to stop, Daniel. Never when to just give in, even now," Plasmius said, his voice rising higher and higher. All the while, I kept inching towards the cure. "And, it's not like I'm forcing you to take on such an awful life. No, quiet the contrary, it would be even better than this pathetic life you have now. Wouldn't you want to know what it's like to actually know about your powers, someone to teach you how to use them instead of blindly feeling out your way, grasping for any clue as to how to control that large amount of power inside of you? To feel safe for once? To not have to fight for your life every day then turn around crawl through that day exhausted and injured? I can give you the world, give you an actual life. Why are you fighting me?"

Phantom didn't answer.

I was almost to the cure, just a foot away.

I heard the crackling of cascading debris. I looked up momentarily to see Phantom standing up, never taking his eyes off of Plasmius. "Because there are more important things that just what I want," he rasped.

My hands curled around the cool vial. I smiled triumphantly.

I pulled out my gun, but then, thought of a way better idea. I pulled out another gun, excited to be using it for the first time. I was saving it for a special occasion. It was very different from the normal standard ecto-gun. I crept a little closer, but still remained at a good distance as to not be detected. I could see that Phantom was trying to keep his eyes focused on Plasmius as to not tip him off, which made me move even faster considering how much of an awful actor Phantom was.

I took aim, extending my arm out, my smile growing.

"Daniel, that it a load of-"

ZAP. ZAP. Two prongs exploded from the gun, lodging into the ghost's back, shocking the ghost intensely. Plasmius let out a scream before shrinking to the ground, falling unconscious while his body still went into spasms.

I walked up, dislodging the prongs once the electricity was done running through the long wire.

Phantom was looking at me wide eyed. "Did you just taser Plasmius?"

I laughed, still feeling the high from taking out a ghost. A powerful ghost at that. What? Even though I was now friends with Phantom, didn't mean I couldn't still enjoy the pleasure of taking out other ghosts, especially ones that were so intent on beating Phantom to a pulp. "Yeah, that should keep him down for a while," I rubbed my gun affectionately. "The electricity running through it was a special kind, having more ecto levels powerful enough to strike a ghost unconscious with one single fire."

"I don't know if this is a yikes or a wow situation."

"Well, this was originally for you," I said, amused at how he instantly turned pale.

"Definitely a yikes," he said, but a smile was growing on his face.

"Well, it's not anymore," I said. I looked at Phantom more closely for the first time since Plasmius attacked. He really wasn't holding up too well. Half his body was stilling smoking from the ecto blast Plasmius shot him with. He was leaning against the wall behind him heavily; his whole body was shaking from strain. His face was practically bleached of any color, and the bruises around his eyes were a vivid purple mixed with red, making him look deathly sick. And his eyes, I managed to stop myself from gasping, but they-they practically lost all their deep emerald, looking almost grey. It was like I was watching the life being sucked out of him. I was beginning to panic, but I concealed it, schooling my features in to a sarcastic mask, one that I was very used to using when I had to hide what I was truly feeling. But, I couldn't help but think the image of his eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life. Part of me wondered about how much pain he was feeling, but I knew that was something I would never find out because Phantom was notorious for waving off that kind of stuff.

I looked down at the cure, still in my hand being held tightly as if it suddenly might disappear. "Here," I forced the vial into Phantom's hand. "Drink it before something else happens."

Phantom rolled his eyes; I inwardly shivered out how strange they looked without their usual color, completely making the once usual gesture from the ghost something frighteningly alien. "Paranoid much?"

I struggled to compose myself, but luckily he didn't seem to notice. I cracked a fake, stubborn smile. "Uh, no," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "Just judging by how unlucky you are; I say you better down that before this lab bursts into flames or other ghosts come looking for you, or-"

"Okay, mom," he said cheekily before opening the vial and gulping it down.

When the vial was empty, that was when I released a sigh of relief. It was finally over. This crazy, insane joyride was finally over, and Phantom was okay again.

The effects of the cure were almost instantaneous. The color immediately started to come back in Phantom's face and eyes, his eyes sparking with the vibrant green I was used to, pulsing with life again.

I smiled at him; he seemed to straighten up more, looking stronger. Looking closer and closer to the perfect Danny Phantom I was used to seeing. But, I was starting to see he wasn't perfect, well not in that annoying way I used to find him to be. "How you feeling?"

He smiled back at me, the light in his eyes making the expression brighter. He raised his shirt sleeve up in response. I saw the sickly green tendrils receding back into the injection point, soon the bump of the injection point disappeared as well, not even leaving a scar to show it was there. "Better," he said.

"Whoa," I breathed, dragging my fingers across the spot on his arm. Looking at it now, you would have never guessed the a sickly poison was in it a few seconds ago.

I heard Phantom chuckle. For a second, that laugh reminded me of someone but I couldn't place it, someone I knew. I looked up to see this goofy smile on his face, again I was stricken by familiarness. I knew that smile...

I've seen it a million times.

I've seen that very smile in my dreams, imagined it in my daydreams, smiled at it myself when I saw it, and even strived to get it. That was Danny Fenton's smile.

For the first time, I was able to look past the unearthly green eyes and stark white hair. And, I saw the face of Danny Fenton. There was no mistaking the sharp angles of his cheek bones or the defined lining of his strong jaw. Even the shape of his big eyes were the same.

And as much as the part of me that wanted to cling to some sense of normalcy was screaming at me that this didn't fit, a larger part was putting all the pieces together one by one. His disappearances, why I never saw him around a ghost fight, his obvious nervousness around his parents' inventions, why he always changed the subject when anything revolving around Phantom or ghosts came up. It was so obvious once you put it all in perspective; just like what Mr. Lancer taught us when reading literature: there are always clues that lead you to the hidden answer when reading, you just had to open your eyes and see. Huh, whoever thought that Mr. Lancer would teach something useful.

So Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom; God, Danny, can you be anymore creative with the names?

I smiled at him. The only thing I was wondering now was why didn't he just tell me? This would have been so much easier. Oh, well, maybe this is a chance for me to have some fun with him.

"Come on," I said, flashing him a bigger, knowing smile. "Let's get out of here."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was practically written a week ago, then, I had to go to preseason for soccer... three words: Oh. My. God. So extremely tired and sore, so much pain haha. So yeah, finally got someone time to write. As for the way Valerie found out and so on, I figured she always had the capacity to figure out Danny's secret was too blinded by the fact that he was her ultimate enemy and that he was an untouchable ghost, so take those two factors away and add to the equation by now that she knows Danny Fenton pretty well and she is actually pretty intelligent, well, there really isn't much chance that she wouldn't figure it out. And, I've always pictured Valerie as the kind of character who would poke some fun and have a couple laughs before telling Danny she knew. **

**So anyway, one more chapter left!**

**I will be updating a lot of my stories soon (like in the next month or so) and probably uploading some oneshots.**

**Oh! And special thanks to bebe and ghostanimal, you guys are what got me to get my butt writing again. Thank you!**


	9. Let The Torture Begin

**Chapter 9: Let The Torture Begin**

I landed on the top of the roof of the building, perfect landing on the roof ledge might I add.

Danny was sitting there, giving me a confused look.

I quickly hid the box I was holding behind my back.

I was very happy to see the color was fully back in his face, and his eyes had their usual brightness back. Thinking back on it now, it was weird seeing him look so lifeless, to the point where he practically did look like a ghost. I never really realized how different from the rest of them he was, not just by the obvious, but by the way he just seemed so alive all the time. Well, he was alive. He was Danny Fenton. My mind was still tripping, trying to make some sense out of it, but I knew and that was all I needed. I knew for sure that this boy in front of me was Danny Fenton.

"So why did you tell me to stay here?" Danny said. It was a bit unsettling to see the same expressions on Phantom's face as Fenton's, but it was all Danny I can assure you.

I brought the box out in front of me, lifting the lid up to reveal what was inside. "I got donuts," I said, sitting down next to him and placing the box in between us.

"Donuts," Danny said disbelievingly. Then, he burst out laughing, so hard that he was clutching his stomach and teetering from one side over. I was about to tell him to calm down before he fell off the roof, but then I realized the stupidity behind that.

"What?" I said, finally getting tired of the apparent joke I was missing.

"We are eating donuts on a rooftop. A ghost and a ghosthunter," he said, managing to speak around his laughter.

I smiled, laughing. "Yeah, I guess that's not something you see every day."

"You think?" He said and with that, he took a donut, devouring it before taking another one.

I took one as well but was not as fast at eating it as he was. I knew this was only the beginning, hence why I got a dozen, I didn't know where that boy put it all, but Danny could definitely eat. I used to wonder what he did that made him eat so much; I guess I kind of knew now. Which reminded me...

"So," I prompted, taking a bite out of the pastry. "Do you know this kid named Danny Fenton?"

Danny stiffened next to me, his eyes becoming huge. "No," he said quickly. By now, he was watching me like a hawk, so I had to struggle not to smile.

"Well, weird how you two have the same name, huh?" I said, enjoying how he was beginning to squirm.

"It's a pretty common name," he said, still eyeing me like I was about to jump him.

"Yeah, I know," I said.

"So, why did you bring him up?" he asked, unable to stop his curiosity.

I knew that was the way to get him. If one thing was for sure, Danny was always curious. That was the only way to grab his attention.

"He's a pretty cool guy," I said, unable to suppress a smile. "Something tells me you two would get along."

If it was any more possible, Danny stiffened even more. "Uh, you don't say."

"I should really introduce you two," I went on, enjoying the expression on his face. "Although his parents are ghosthunters, so we would have to be a little bit careful. I mean could you imagine, parents for ghosthunters?"

"Yeah, can't imagine that..."

"But, then again, I bet you know the Fentons really well," I said, remembering all the times Mr. Fenton shouted about tearing him apart molecule by molecule. For a second, I wondered why Danny didn't just tell them; I mean it was obvious that they loved him and would accept him with open arms if given the chance. Then, again, I couldn't blame him. They were ghosthunters after all.

"Yeah, I sorta know them."

I laughed; I really couldn't hold it in this time. I've honestly never seen Danny look so uncomfortable, and it was even funnier because he was Phantom. I've never seen Phantom even close to being embarrassed; it was kinda surreal.

"What?"

I smiled. "You know, Danny; you're really not good at playing it close to the vest. Although, I'm surprised it took me this long to find out." I knocked my hand against my head in a gesture, "Man, was I really that blind?"

Danny looked at me with his normal clueless expression, cocking his head to the side in that cute way he always did when he was really confused.

"Danny," I said levelly, realizing that I literally had to spell it out for him, "I know who you are."

"What?" he exclaimed, his eyes bugging out.

I sighed, "Okay, but I don't know how I can make this any simpler. You are Danny Fenton. And, Danny Phantom. And the sky is blue, and this town is full of idiots."

"Why is it full of idiots?" he said, although he sounded a little distant as if still trying to process that I knew who he really was.

"Because they can't figure out that Phantom is really Fenton. I mean really? You even look alike, and seriously Danny you couldn't pick any other name?"

Danny chuckled, apparently starting to get over his shock. "Sam said the same thing."

"Sam knows too?" I asked, a little bit surprised and a little jealous, not like I'm gonna admit that or anything. Just slightly angry with the fact that she knew before me.

"And Tucker. And Jazz. She found out later though."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," I said. "You guys are always together," I added grudgingly. I was well aware that the other two-thirds of the trio didn't like me. But, I guess I knew why now. I was trying to kill their best friend. As for his sister, I guess she probably figured out; she was smart like that. No wonder she was so overprotective. I used to think that it was unnecessary; but after seeing everything that's happened, I couldn't really blame her. "Why didn't you just tell me?" I asked, trying to get over the guilt I was feeling. "If you would have, I wouldn't have hunted you. I thought you were a ghost, an evil ghost."

"I guess I was sorta afraid," Danny said, looking down. He had a guilty expression on his face, which just made me feel worse because he had no reason to feel guilty. I was the one who was trying to kill him all along, and he was just trying to save the town. "Well, part of it was that, telling you that I was half ghost-I didn't even tell my parents. It's just not something I can trust anybody with, you know? I kinda like just being normal." He looked up at me, his expression growing tired. "Then the other part, which is the main reason. This whole ghost hunting thing used to be simple: put the Box Ghost in the thermos and put him back in the Ghost Zone. But, it got more dangerous. I have enemies now; enemies that wouldn't hesitate to attack the people around me. I was eventually going to tell me parents, you know. But, everything just got so complicated; and the deeper I got into it, the more I realized it wasn't safe for anybody else to know."

"Don't you think they should decide that? I should decide that?" I said. "I'm pretty sure we are used to danger."

Danny shook his head. "Val, I know you are going to try to argue with me, but you and my parents don't have the kind of enemies I do. The kind that their only reason for coming out the Ghost Zone is to take me down."

"All the more reason to have more people on your side," I said firmly.

Danny eyed me, probably realizing the stubborn look I was giving him, the same look I've seen in his face a million times. He cracked a smile, but it was a mixture of relief and a certain kind of sadness. "I guess I don't really have a choice now, huh?"

"Nope," I said, smiling at him. "At least not with me," I amended. I looked at him seriously. "Look, I'm going to back you up with whatever you decide, but I think you should tell your parents."

Danny blanched, probably thinking that I was going to force him to, which would be the normal Valerie thing to do, but this wasn't the case. I, probably more than anybody else, knew how hard it was to tell your parents that you had a whole other life they didn't know about. And, I didn't have to tell my dad that I was half of the species that he hunted for a career.

"I'm not going to make you," I said. He visibly relaxed. "But, I don't want something happening to you, Danny. How do you think they would feel to know that all this time they've been shooting at their own son, and worse if they actually harmed you? That would be the worse way to find out if you ask me." I paused, staring at his green eyes, it was funny how I didn't even see the weird glowing anymore; they didn't freak me out or bring on the usual anger. They were actually kind of comforting; I felt this kind of soft warmth when I looked at them. "I'm you're friend, and I don't feel great at all knowing that I've been trying to kill you for the past year and a half. I'm pretty sure this will tear up your mom and dad. What I'm trying to say is that the longer this goes on, the more awful it will be on them when they find out."

"But, I can just tell them they didn't know," he said, defending his parents.

"And, they will just feel like they should have known," I placed a hand on my chest, "I should have known, Danny. I should have been able to tell that was my friend I was fighting. I should have known that you were Danny. I shouldn't have done all those things; I shouldn't have blamed you."

"Val, it's not your fault," Danny said, his gaze becoming more intense. It was typical Danny. He hated when other people blamed themselves even though they deserved it.

"Like hell it is," I said, frustrated with him for thinking that by him just telling me it wasn't that I would just believe him and be okay with this. No, it wasn't okay. "I started this whole thing! If I wasn't there, you wouldn't have been kidnapped and poisoned. If I wasn't so bent on hunting you, hurting you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt! I could have killed you, Danny. Killed." I knew I was becoming hysterical. I didn't know why, but suddenly Danny was there holding me, trying to soothe me. I didn't even register that I was crying until now.

I just kept thinking over and over again about that night when he was shot down by Plasmius for protecting me.

His body falling.

His limp body.

It was too much like he was dead.

I could have done that. I almost did. I almost took a life, almost tore apart a family, took a friend, a son, a brother. Just like how my mom was taken from me. I almost did the same thing. I didn't know why I was thinking about my mom or even relating this to her. I knew it was different. I hadn't thought about her in years; I already had closure about what happened to her, about how she was killed in a robbery, of how we moved to Amity to start again. But, still, one of the reasons I started ghost hunting, after I got over the extreme revenge part, was to protect people. I wanted to protect people. "I thought I was doing the right thing," I choked out.

"It's okay; it's okay," Danny said, rubbing circles in my back.

I was starting to relax, some of the panic ebbing away. "No, it's not."

"Hey, you're acting like you already killed me," Danny said, I could practically hear the smile in his voice, his Danny smile, the one that made you reassured that everything was going to be okay. "I'm still here, Val."

I nodded, not really having anything to say to him.

"Val?" I heard him say. His voice was strangely serious and sounded kind of funny. So I looked up at him. He had this odd expression on his face, looking somewhat ashamed and unsure of himself. Two things that I wasn't really used to seeing when it came to him. "I know from experience that you can't focus on what you could have done or what you did in the past. If you keep doing that, it will eat you up inside. You have to let go and just try to make things different now, in the present. I don't want you to blame yourself." He eyes grew distant as if he was seeing something else besides the towering buildings and landscape Amity. "Everybody deserves a second chance," he whispered.

"How do you know that?" I asked. I could tell something must have happened to him. Something big.

He looked down at me, looking very much like he didn't want to answer that question at all. "I've made some mistakes, but thank God, I fixed them. And, I realized that what I do can affect everybody in both a good and bad way."

"No pressure or anything," I grunted, not liking the almost haunted way his expression took on.

Danny laughed, somehow it sounded carefree, breaking from the serious moment. "Tell me about it."

"Fenton, I never thought I would say this to anybody, but you have a crazier life than me," I said, smiling. For some reason, I felt a little lighter, a little less guilty.

"At least we can help each other out, now," Danny said with a smile, he put out his hand, "Partners?"

I took his hand, shaking it. "Partners," I confirmed.

We both smiled at each other. It was a beautiful moment, and like all beautiful moments that are in my life, it ended very quickly. Danny's breath became visible, sending a shiver down his back. "Ghost sense," he groaned.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

We both groaned, slumping back on our ledge exasperately.

"Seriously?" Danny yelled. "I swear can you stay in the Ghost Zone for one day?"

"What? Afraid of my evilness, Phantom?" the Box Ghost wailed dramatically, making a lot of unnecessary hand gestures. "You should be."

I stood up smiling, might as well have some fun since I had to do this, I cracked my knuckles menacingly, activating my glider, letting it form under my feet. "Hello, misplace aggression."

"Hey," Danny said, standing. His tone sounded offended, but it was playful. He had a smile on his face, the kind that made him look very wicked and unpredictable. "That's usually my line."

I ignored the butterflies in my stomach and cut my eyes at him, flashing a predatory smile as I leaned into a battle crouch. "Whoever gives Box Ghost the most bruises wins. Loser buys Nasty Burger."

"You're on," Danny said, before donning a menacing glare at the poor ghost, who looked pretty scared shitless now to my amusement.

"Uh..." the ghost looked uncomfortably to the side then looked back at us, trying to pull of a menacing face, "BEWARE!" Box Ghost yelled, before taking off, flying in the opposite direction.

We zoomed after him. With Danny and me now partners, I knew the Box Ghost didn't stand a chance. I didn't think any ghost stood a chance because now, I had Danny's back no matter what happened. It was weird to think that a couple days ago I hated Phantom, but then I thought we could be friends. But now, I realized he was my friend all along.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>AN: Finished! Man, I'm so sorry for the long wait you guys! But, I hope you liked the story; I definitely enjoyed Valerie's perspective. thanks for all the reviews and sticking with me (even with my long updates). You guys are awesome!**


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